Gentlemen Thieves
by rachello344
Summary: Kaito and Shinichi may have come from different backgrounds, but both boys find their way into thievery. What Kaito and Shinichi don't realize is that they're both after the same people. Eventual KaiShin *cross-posted from Ao3
1. Kaito Learns the Truth

Kaito yawned and rubbed at his eyes, fighting to stay awake, waiting on the stairs. His parents were still gone, and they should have been back _hours_ ago. His eyes kept drifting shut, but he was too worried to let himself sleep. Something felt wrong, like something bad was going to happen.

He rubbed at his eyes again.

The front door opened. Kaito woke with a start, standing unsteadily. His father was in a strange white suit with a red stain on the chest. He was also wearing a tall hat and a monocle. Kaito shivered and glanced to either side of his father to the people holding him up. One of them was Jii, his father's assistant, but the other was…

He couldn't tell. The mask they were wearing covered their whole face and looked like bandages, as if the person were a mummy. Kaito darted forward to his father. He had to know for sure if the stain really was…

"Jii, what's wrong with Dad?" he asked, glancing anxiously between the two, wringing his hands. There was a soft gasp from his left, from the person he couldn't recognize.

"Oh, Kaito, you should be in bed," his mother's voice said from behind the strange mask. The woman pulled off the bandages hastily with the hand not supporting his father. "You should have been in bed," she murmured, touching his head.

"Mom, what happened? Why were you wearing that mask?" Kaito asked, taking a step away from them all. His eyes felt hot. His dad was hurt, and he and his mom were both dressed weirdly, and they weren't explaining anything…

"I need to take care of Dad right now, Kaito, but after that, I promise I'll tell you everything, okay?" his mom sounded desperate. Kaito thought for a moment that she might be crying, too. "Why don't you lie down in our bed, so you'll know the minute we're done, hm?"

Kaito nodded, clinging to her free hand and following the three adults up the stairs. He tucked himself into their bed between their pillows, listening to them speaking quietly in the bathroom.

"Chikage," his dad slurred, "I thought I heard Kaito. Is he alright?"

"Kaito's fine, dear. _You_, on the other hand, have seen better days." His mother sighed heavily. "He saw my mask. What do we tell him?"

"The truth." His father sounded clearer, more aware than before.

"Toichi, he's only a child."

"Then we'll keep it simple, but he deserves to know." Toichi sighed. "After this, I'll have to lay low for a while. Definitely no heists for the time being… I'll stick to my magic and stay home with Kaito. You'll have to work with Jii until I'm healed, I'm afraid."

"I'll do whatever I can to assist you, ma'am." Jii sounded strained, though, like he was focusing on something very difficult. Kaito only ever focused that hard on his reading for school. The kanji was so difficult, and they wanted him to remember too many, always adding new ones to the list…

Kaito yawned.

* * *

When he woke up, Kaito was surprised to still be in his parents' bed, his parents asleep on either side of him. He stretched, still feeling a little drowsy, but also pretty sure he was supposed to get up for school…

He shook his mom's shoulder.

"Mom," he muttered. "Mom, I have school. It's Thursday."

"How about we all stay home today, huh?" his mom asked him, smiling through her exhaustion. "We all had a late night, and Dad and I have some explaining to do."

"I get to stay home?" he asked, beaming.

"Mm-hmm," his mom yawned. "Dad and I will explain everything after breakfast. But for now, how about we go back to sleep, Kaito."

Kaito nodded, and tucked himself a little closer to her, falling back asleep easily.

When he woke up again, his parents were both gone. Kaito was anxious for a moment before he smelled breakfast cooking. Sighing in relief, he got out of bed. His stomach growled as he walked down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kaito," his mom greeted, waving the spatula at him with a bright smile. His dad was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. He glanced up at Kaito and winked.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I think we can save them for after breakfast." His dad seemed much better in the light of day. He looked _alive_ in a way he hadn't looked last night. Kaito had avoided the thought, but…

His dad could very well have died last night.

He hurried over to the table, trying not to cry as he wrapped his arms around his dad. Toichi pressed a hand to the back of his head, hushing him.

"I'm okay, Kaito," he reminded him. "We're all okay."

"You were bleeding a lot yesterday."

"I was."

"You almost _died_."

"I did."

"Toichi!" his mother protested, putting the plates on the table with more force than necessary. The dishes rattled. Kaito flinched, pressing closer to his dad.

"There's no use lying to him, not now." Toichi ruffled Kaito's hair. "He saw enough last night that he wouldn't believe any lie we could come up with. But enough of this for now, yes? Time to eat!"

While they ate, Toichi kept up a running dialogue about his plans for his next magic show. Kaito would normally call it a _monologue_, but it was hard to consider it one when his dad was using his and his mom's voices to reply to himself. Kaito could hardly focus on his breakfast.

He gazed at his father in undisguised wonder.

"How are you _doing_ that," he asked, star struck.

"It's something I learned to do after a lot of practice," Toichi said. "I could teach you to do it, if you want to learn."

"I do! I want to learn," Kaito exclaimed. His mother sighed and began clearing the plates away.

"Head into the living room, Kaito. We have a lot to talk about," Chikage said, touching his head as she walked past him to the kitchen.

Kaito shot out of his chair and scrambled into the living room, settling onto the couch, legs crossed. He couldn't quite manage to sit still, nervous and excited as he was. He fidgeted, trying not to eavesdrop on his parents, trying to be patient.

He slipped off the couch and moved closer to the kitchen, keeping out of sight. He was sure to keep within what was still _technically_ the living room.

"…with my story, I suppose," his mom was saying.

"Sensible, seeing as you started before I did. We should be sure to discuss _them_…" his father said, trailing off, probably exchanging a significant look with his mom.

"Do we tell him about…?"

"No, better keep things close to home for now. Maybe when he's older."

Before they could step around the counter and see him, Kaito slipped quickly around the couch and sat back down. When his parents walked sedately into the room, hand in hand, they only smirked at him. He tensed, sure he'd been found out.

"I suppose that sort of thing runs in the family," Toichi chuckled, taking a seat in the arm chair next to the couch. Chikage rolled her eyes.

"Or you're a bad influence."

Chikage took a seat beside Kaito on the couch, smiling at him, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Kaito glanced between his parents, unsure about whether or not he should start asking questions.

"I wish it hadn't come to this," his mom said, so soft as to be almost inaudible. "I suppose by now you're too curious for us to back out without upsetting you…"

"Dad was hurt," Kaito reminded her firmly. "You could have been hurt, too."

"That's why I didn't want you to know."

"If you'd rather I tell him…" Toichi offered.

Chikage shook her head, "No, he's my son, too. I can do this."

Kaito watched his mom, unsure and a little scared. His mom was usually so strong and steady, seeing her so anxious was… bad. Kaito felt like he had the night before when he was sure something was wrong. He wasn't sure why he felt the way he did, but he couldn't help but feel like everything he knew was about to change.

Kaito felt like he was on a rollercoaster, and he was about to hit the drop.

"My parents… You haven't met them, Kaito, but they were…" Chikage sighed, looking away. "When I was 5, they enrolled me in gymnastics. They were constantly testing my skills at home, trying to see how far I could go. I thought they wanted me to join the Olympics gymnastic team, but they never cared all that much for competitions. They were proud, but that wasn't why they started me in them.

"When I turned 16, my parents told me the truth. They were both thieves."

Kaito gasped, looking between his parents in surprise. His grandparents were?

"They told me that I could learn from them and 'join the family business,' or I could look for something else I wanted to do," Chikage laughed, though it rang false. "When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a police officer."

Toichi laughed, covering his mouth when she frowned at him. Kaito thought it was _kind of_ funny, but he was still reeling. He wasn't sure he remembered _how_ to laugh.

"Anyway, I was worried they'd be disappointed if I didn't choose to join them, so I agreed. And for a while, it was fun. I got to stay out late and get in and out of dangerous situations… My parents were very good at what they did, so we never really ran into any trouble. I _loved _it."

Chikage looked wistful. Toichi looked fond. Kaito just wanted to know what all this had to do with last night.

"By the time I was 18, I'd branched off. I bought my own apartment and started stealing on my own. Nothing too big, but enough. I started taking jobs for money, despite my parents' warnings not to. I couldn't see the harm in it, so I started hiring myself out." Chikage ran a hand through her hair and slumped forward.

"One man began hiring me almost exclusively. He didn't especially care _where_ I took the things he wanted me to steal, just so long as I took them away. I figured he was… It doesn't really matter what I thought, I guess. Fact of the matter is, he was hiring me to steal things so he could sell fake versions for very high prices on the black market.

"When I found out, I confronted him. I refused to work with someone who would use me like that. After he laughed in my face, I decided to bring him down. I started stealing the forgeries he sold to people. He'd marked them all, you see. When I'd collected them, I sent them to the police, along with the original."

"He was furious, of course," Toichi cut in. Kaito shifted his focus. "During one of her thefts, he caught her in a trap. He was going to kill her for getting in his way."

"What happened?" Kaito asked, finally able to gather his wits somewhat closer together.

"I swooped in to perform a daring rescue. I was about to give my world debut as a magician when I saw your mother entering the building and, quietly, shadowed her. Together, we made a daring escape, and I jumped feet first into the shining night." Toichi grinned widely.

Kaito frowned. His father seemed so happy about presumably becoming a thief like his mom, but his mom had been a thief for a long time and looked _sad_. Maybe he was missing something.

"Then, last night… The two of you were stealing?" Kaito asked. "And Dad was shot?"

Chikage nodded, sighing, "We ran into a new group, people we've never seen before. They're after a gem they believe to be magic. They thought your father had it and shot him to try and take it. They didn't quite realize that we were after a painting last night, not a gem."

"Your mother and I have decided that we're going to ensure they see justice, Kaito," Toichi said, leaning forward on his chair, focusing all of his attention on Kaito. "It will take some time, but we believe it will be worth it. People are getting hurt because of them."

"Neither of you have… killed anyone, have you?" The look of horror on their faces was deeply reassuring. Kaito sighed, "Thank goodness."

"Oh, Kaito," his mom covered her mouth with one hand before pulling him into her arms. "Kaito, we would _never_. The one thing that should never be stolen is a life."

Kaito nodded, curling up against her.

"Seeing as I'm going to be staying home for the foreseeable future," Toichi started. Kaito and Chikage both looked up at him. "How about I start teaching you to mimic voices, along with some bigger magic tricks?"

"Really?" Kaito sat up further, beaming. His mother sighed.

"Nothing dangerous, dear, and try to take it slow, won't you?" she asked, sounding both tired and resigned.

"Could I start gymnastics like you did, Mom?" Kaito asked.

"What?" she asked, looking disarmed, eyes wide. "If you want to, I suppose we can sign you up. Are you sure?"

"Very sure. I want to help catch bad guys when I grow up," Kaito declared.

His father clapped with a broad grin, but his mother looked uneasy.

"We'll see, Kaito. I want you to be safe."

"Mom, I'm only 8. I'll be okay."

She hugged him close again, pressing her face to the top of his head.

"I know, baby, I know."


	2. Shinichi Stumbles Into His First Heist

Shinichi glanced around the warehouse, stepping inside and closing the door behind him, careful not to make a sound. He just needed to find a bit of evidence, and then he could bring it to Ran's father. Once he had it, the cops could deal with the forgers.

Even better, Ran could finally stop worrying about her dad. If he stopped stressing about his work, he'd stop drinking or gambling as much. They could go back to hanging out as usual, instead of cutting things short so she could take food to the old man… or pick him up from the pachinko parlor.

It would be perfect.

He just had to find the evidence and submit it to the police anonymously…

Although, now that he was inside, he could clearly see each alarm and camera hidden around the room. He pulled his hat lower on his head and fidgeted in place. The guards were all at the perimeter, not inside, but one wrong move… He needed help.

He pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dad. I'm, uh, in a bit of a situation," Shinichi admitted, scratching the back of his neck. His dad would be level-headed and cool about it. He wouldn't give him a hard time about it until later. This was fine.

His parents always reminded him to call if he was ever in any kind of trouble. No matter what, they would always help him, and they would never be upset with him until after he was safe. _No matter what, _they insisted.

Hopefully that applied here as well.

"What kind of situation?" his dad asked, shifting gears into his serious mode.

"I kind of, well, I broke into a warehouse to find evidence of forgeries and fraud for Ran's father. I haven't tripped any alarms or stepped into the line of a camera yet, but I'm going to have to pass the cameras to get to the evidence, and I don't have a clean exit."

"Just a second, son. This is your mother's area of expertise, let me put her on," he sighed. "It figures you'd take after her in this. At least it's for a good cause."

This was a _disaster_. He needed his dad's level head and knowledge of crime! What was his mom going to do? Coo and fuss at him? Tease him? And what was taking his dad so long? How far away could she be?

"How many exits can you see from where you're standing?" his mom asked.

"What?" Shinichi almost didn't recognize her; her tone was far too serious and collected. This woman could not possibly be his mother. Not even a _Hello, darling boy,_ or anything.

She must be a doppelganger.

"Your father told me the situation. Now tell me how many exits you can see, like that game we played when you were little."

Shinichi took a long breath to center himself. If she could be serious, he'd follow her lead. He focused on the walls, counting doors, windows, and vents within his reach, noting the alarms hooked to each one.

"Six windows, all rigged with alarms. Four doors out and two doors to, I don't know, offices probably. There are no vents in my reach."

"Cameras?"

"Only two, focused on the crates at the center of the room."

"And with a warehouse, you won't have to worry about infrared," she concluded. "Okay, do you remember where the guards are?"

"There were only five or six of them, and they were stationed around the fence. One of them is in a guardhouse, watching the only exit by road." Shinichi mentally double- and triple-checked his count, but was sure that was the case.

"That's good; Shinichi, you're doing well," his mother praised. "You're just going to give your target to the police, right?"

"Yes."

"Then there's no point in carrying it all that way," his mother chuckled. "Now, here's the plan: Open as many crates as you can and dump the contents on the floor. This is very important, Shinichi: you need to make a mess. Make it impossible to clean quickly, do you understand?"

"I understand." Shinichi said. If the forgeries were spread out, they would be in plain sight… or something. He wasn't entirely sure where she was going with it.

"Excellent. Then, you're going to need to take your quickest exit out, the best path away from the guards."

"What about the alarms?"

"Trip them. All you need to worry about is keeping your face off the camera. You're wearing a hat?"

"I am. So, I _want_ to get caught?" Shinichi asked, frowning, but already mentally picking out the cleanest route to safety.

"Of course not, dear. You want _them_ to get caught. The police will insist on investigating the robbery and pursuing the suspect." She sounded smug, like her idea was just _perfect_.

"That's…" Shinichi spotted a crowbar lying near the main collection of crates. "That's brilliant, Mom."

"Thank you, sweetie. Are you going to get started?"

"Yeah."

"Good, make sure to lay low for at least an hour after. Don't get caught."

Shinichi put his phone away when he heard her hang up. Right, then. Time to get to work. There would be plenty of time to wonder about his mother's uncanny knowledge of burglary later. There would also be time to wonder about why a game they played when he was a child was useful for robberies.

For now, he had a job to do.

Smashing the crates was easy. Spilling the contents—thankfully the forgeries he was looking for—was even easier. Getting out clean was… Unpleasant. The door leading outside was easy to unlock from the inside, and the alarm sounded like planned, but there was one thing he hadn't factored for.

The guard circling the main warehouse had _the worst_ timing.

"Stop, thief!" he called after Shinichi.

Shinichi sprinted away, keeping his head down as best he could before scrambling over the chain link fence at the property's edge and turning toward the city. He just had to find a place he could hide out. An alley or a coffee shop or something.

The guard was hot on his heels, though, not quite gaining, but clearly not losing him anytime soon. Shinichi thanked his coach for all the laps he did each day with the soccer team. They were time consuming and often painful by the end, but they had their uses. He was never going to complain about them again.

As he wound through the streets, trying to find a place to hide, he listened to the man panting into his radio. It was difficult to hear him over the pounding of his own heart, audible even over each footfall.

"I'm still in pursuit. We should pass by that Poirot place you always eat at. Send the cops our way as soon as you can."

Shinichi thanked his lucky stars. He'd just hide at Ran's place. She always left the kitchen window unlatched and her father was definitely working. Ran was probably still at practice, so he could just climb up and sneak in, and no one would have to know.

He climbed up without any trouble. He got inside through the unlatched window, easy. Dodging Ran's fist was much harder.

He dropped gracelessly to the floor, sprawling out with a quiet groan.

"Wait, _Shinichi_?" she exclaimed, scowling at him. She put her hands on her hips. "What on _earth_ do you think you're doing? Why didn't you just use the door?"

"I can explain in a second, I promise, but I think he might have seen me come up here, and he's probably going to ask you if you've seen me," Shinichi panted. "Please lie."

"Shinichi, _what did you do_," she asked, tone dropping dangerously low.

Shinichi opened his mouth to at least start answering when someone started pounding on the door. He flinched, ducking his head on instinct. Ran frowned at him.

"Stay here," she hissed to him, turning and putting on a smile. "Coming!"

She answered the door. From Shinichi's vantage point behind the kitchen counter, the man did not seem at all pleased to see her. He was glad to be hidden from sight. The man was built tall and thick. He resembled the pro-fighters Ran liked to watch now and again.

"Sorry to bother you this late, miss," the man bowed politely, his breathing still heavy. "I was chasing a thief and I thought I saw him slip through your window. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"

"Not at all. The only window that could be is in the kitchen, and I was just in there. I'm sorry I can't help you."

"No, no, thank you for your time. Have a pleasant night, miss."

"Good luck," Ran called as she closed the door.

When she turned around, her back pressed to the door, she looked _murderous_.

"_Kudo Shinichi_, you better have a _very good_ explanation for why that man followed a _thief_ and left _you_ in his wake." Ran stalked toward him, fists clenched at her sides.

Shinichi swallowed hard, painful with his throat dry from the run.

"I tripped alarms so that your dad would get the evidence he needed for that forgery case," Shinichi blurted.

"What?" Ran flinched back, startled.

Shinichi closed his eyes for a moment and took a steadying breath before telling her the whole story. At some point between his noticing the warehouse and breaking in, Ran joined him in sitting on the floor. Shinichi longed for a chair. Also, a glass of water.

"Why did your dad give the phone to your mom?" Ran asked, her chin resting on her knees, arms holding them close to her chest.

"I have no idea, honestly. She was so different, too. Nothing like she usually is." Shinichi leaned back in thought, but hit his head on the cabinet he was leaning against. He winced, pain shooting through his skull.

Ran gestured for him to stand and poured him a glass of water. Ran was always doing things like that, anticipating people's needs before they were verbalized. He took a long grateful drink of his water, while she settled herself on the couch, curling up. Shinichi took his usual place on the other end after setting an empty beer can on the coffee table with the others.

"I wonder if your mom is some kind of thief," Ran muttered, looking distraught. "Do you think she could be stealing something right now?"

"Of course not." Shinichi soothed. "There haven't been any major thefts in the papers recently, and she should still be home, seeing as my dad handed his phone to her."

"That's true. But still, she might be a criminal!"

"That's a definite possibility," Shinichi grimaced. "A criminal making friends with detectives and lawyers… That's certainly… out of the ordinary, though."

"And your dad doesn't seem the type to knowingly marry a thief…" Ran rubbed at her hands anxiously. "I just can't believe it…"

Shinichi looked away, eyes finding a framed picture of both their families on the TV stand. They all looked so happy, he and Ran grinning in the front, their parents behind them, all smiling. A lawyer, a detective, a writer, and a thief.

"Neither can I."

* * *

About an hour later, Shinichi's phone rang. He gave the phone a wary look, setting down Ran's book. He supposed his reading homework could wait. Ran stopped her own work for a moment, confirming that the call was to him before turning back to it somewhat reluctantly.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi, dear," his mom said lightly. "I'm coming to pick you up. Where'd you end up hiding out?"

"With Ran."

His mom groaned, "Shinichi, the first rule of laying low is to do so where people aren't likely to look for you. Next time, choose somewhere you haven't spent much time at, alright?" Before he could answer, she continued, "I'll be there soon. Hold tight, kiddo!"

Shinichi stared blankly at his phone for a long moment. What did she mean by _next time_?

"Everything okay?" Ran asked, glancing up from her homework again.

"Fine. My mom's on her way to pick me up."

"Do you think we could convince her to explain, or should we…?"

"I don't know if we should tell her that you know. I'm not sure how she'll react." Shinichi turned the phone over and over in his hands, starting to get lost in thought, imagining each possible outcome…

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with lying to her, Shinichi," Ran frowned. "I mean, she's your _mom_, thief or not. It just feels, I don't know, wrong, I guess."

"Then we'll tell her and make her explain. You might have to come over tonight. Do you think your dad will mind?" Shinichi asked.

"Probably not," Ran sighed. "I'll call him when we know if that's the case, but I really don't think he'd care."

Ran packed a backpack without seeming to think about it. Every now and again, she'd look over at him like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it each time. Shinichi was curious, but he wasn't going to pry. She'd tell him when she was ready. Probably.

After another minute of continued silence, Ran sat down heavily, her bag on the floor between her legs. She stared at her hands, wringing them and biting her lip.

"What if…" Ran looked up at him. Tears welling up and nearly overflowing, much to his alarm. "What if your mom really is a thief, Shinichi? What if she's a criminal?"

"I don't know," Shinichi admitted.

A knock sounded at the door. Shinichi and Ran glanced at each other nervously. Ran closed her eyes and breathed for just a moment to collect herself before walking to the front door.

"Hello, Ran, sorry to be bothering you so late. Just here to pick up my wayward son," Yukiko teased, smiling fondly at them both. She looked so _normal_, like nothing was wrong. If Shinichi hadn't spoken to her himself, he could have been convinced that this was just another night he'd stayed late at the Mouri's place.

Shinichi _had_ spoken to her, though. He stepped forward, squaring his shoulders and feigning courage. His heart felt like it might burst out of his chest, it was beating so hard.

"She knows, Mom."

"Knows what?" Yukiko asked, still smiling. If Shinichi didn't know better, he'd think she really _was_ confused. She wasn't an actress for nothing. Her skills were award-winning, after all.

"I told her everything. She _knows_."

Ran nodded. She still looked scared, but she was standing tall, facing his mother down. She'd always been braver than he was. Shinichi smiled at her, albeit a bit weakly.

His mom sighed, "Shinichi, when your mother implies to you that she has experience as a thief, you shouldn't tell your best friend. _Especially_ not when your best friend is a detective's daughter."

"So it's true," Ran wilted. "You really are a criminal."

His mother flinched. She looked like she'd been punched in the gut, the wind knocked out of her. Collecting herself, she glanced between them both, smile gone.

"I have a lot I need to explain to you both. Ran, dear, will you be able to spend the night with us?" Yukiko asked.

Ran shouldered her backpack and flipped open her phone. Shinichi thought his mother looked… proud, almost, like she hadn't been expecting their forethought, but was glad for it.

The conversation between Ran and her father was brief. Shinichi heard something about Kogoro having to work late anyway due to a break in the case. When Ran hung up, she took a long breath before looking back at Shinichi and his mom.

"He said thanks for taking me in like always."

"Of course, dear. You have everything you need?"

"I do."

Without another word, they stepped outside. Ran locked the door behind them, and then they were off. Under different circumstances, Shinichi would be more relieved to be going home, especially after the night he'd had. Instead, he was dreading it.

From her place beside him in the backseat, Ran took his hand.

* * *

Yukiko insisted on settling everyone before beginning to speak, pouring tea and making sure everyone was comfortable. Yusaku even left his study to join them for the explanation, lounging in his arm chair. Yukiko ended up settling in the room's second arm chair, while Shinichi and Ran sat together on the couch.

Thus settled, Yukiko set down her tea.

"As I'm sure you both know, I received makeup training from a magician in the beginning of my career," Yukiko began, pausing for their acknowledgment. "After receiving that training, I took several courses on gymnastics and the like for a role I was preparing for. A short time later, a friend of mine needed my help with a heist, something to catch bad guys, people who had tried to kill her husband (also a thief). After that, well," Yukiko smiled. "The rest was history."

Nothing else seemed forthcoming; Shinichi frowned.

"Mom, that _can't_ be the whole story," Shinichi protested.

"It is, though. The only things I steal are to help my friend get killers off the street."

Yusaku coughed, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, I also occasionally steal things from rude people on the red carpet, but I always return them," Yukiko huffed.

"With a note about how tacky the jewelry was," Yusaku added, smirking. Yukiko sniffed, turning her nose up.

"Of course. They were rude, so I returned the favor."

Ran laughed loud enough that she and Shinichi were both startled by it. Before Shinichi knew it, he was following suit, laughing without quite knowing why.

"I suppose now," Yukiko said as Shinichi and Ran quieted down, "the only real question is what you'd like to do moving forward."

"Well, there's no real reason for me to tell my dad…?" Ran tried, frowning now. Shinichi watched his mom, trying to read her, but was coming up with nothing.

"I'm glad to hear that, Ran. What would you think if Shinichi decided to continue what he did tonight?"

"Why would I continue? I did what I set out to do," Shinichi said, frown matching Ran's. His mother sighed, like she was disappointed he'd missed something obvious. He bristled.

"Cases like this one are going to keep coming up. Wouldn't you rather be in a position to do something about it? Wouldn't you both like to be able to help?" Yukiko asked, sounding reasonable and serious. Suspicious.

"Dad did say he'd gotten a huge break in his case… He sounded really happy," Ran trailed off, eyes distant.

Shinichi watched her while he considered his own feelings on the matter. He hadn't actually stolen anything, after all, and now the criminals were being arrested… What he'd done was good, and it was easy enough, exciting even.

"I wouldn't mind as long as Shinichi didn't get hurt, and my dad got the evidence he needs," Ran decided, shoulders straightening back out with her conviction.

"I'll only do it as long as Ran doesn't mind," Shinichi said.

His mother smiled at them both.

"In that case, I suppose I'll have to start training you properly. The evidence you need won't always be in such a poorly guarded warehouse, you know." Yukiko stood up, resting her hands on her hips. "You'll need to learn how to disguise yourself, and you'll definitely need to learn to pick pockets. Isn't this exciting?" she asked, grinning at her husband.

Yusaku looked amused, but otherwise somewhat disinterested.

"As long as you're both careful," Yusaku said.

"Of course we'll be careful, right, guys?" Yukiko said with a winning smile. Shinichi and Ran nodded their agreement. Shinichi just hoped he'd be able to keep up with everything. He did still want to be a detective, after all. That would be considerably more difficult if he had a criminal record.


	3. A Witch That Shed Tears

"Kid, how's our getaway looking," the Phantom Lady asked through their ear pieces. Kaito glanced over the route they'd planned from his position on the roof.

"All clear, Phantom Lady," he told her. "Though you seem to have a fairly persistent tail tonight." Kaito watched through his binoculars as Inspector Nakamori and his officers pounded steadily after her, even though they'd long since lost any sightline on her.

Speaking of, Kaito made another sweep over the adjacent buildings, searching for the flash of a scope.

All clear.

Acting as lookout wasn't exactly fun, but it was good to have someone with eyes on any potential blind spots. Normally Jii would take that position while they tag-teamed whatever group they were infiltrating, but Jii had taken a hit at their last heist and was still recovering. (Stupid mistake, they should have been more careful.)

Next time, his mom would take the lookout spot unless Jii recovered before then. Kaito sighed and kept his eyes moving from roof to roof, then through the upper floors…

"Phantom, we have a friend joining the fray. Haido Hotel, thirty… fifth floor, to our north."

"Is that so? Guess we'll have to switch to Plan B. You have a disguise ready?"

"I do."

"Excellent, because I'm 30 seconds out, and coming in hot."

"I'll set up the dummy."

Thirty seconds later, Kaito and his mom effortlessly shed their costumes in the officers' confusion, deploying their dummy of Kid to the north, watching side by side to see if the sniper would take the shot. When no gunshots were forthcoming, they allowed themselves to be swept out of the building with the tide of officers.

They moved with the group hitting the streets to see if they couldn't track the glider and, once they were alone, shed their disguises for civilian wear.

"That was a good catch, Kaito. You have a good eye," Chikage praised, ruffling his hair.

"Practice makes perfect, I guess," Kaito shrugged, frowning. "That was close, though. They're waiting longer to set up than they used to. That's probably why Jii…"

"Or Jii is just getting old, dear. He should have retired from such dangerous work a long time ago," Chikage sighed. "His loyalty to your father is stronger than his good sense, I think."

"You're probably right, but we still need his help, don't we?"

"We do. Hopefully this will all be over soon," Chikage patted her bag, gazing into the distance as they walked. "A friend of mine might have picked up another lead if this one doesn't pan out, but it could be just another dead end. She'll let us know when she learns more. In the meantime, I think we should take a break to gather information ourselves, hm?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kaito agreed. He had a lot of homework to get caught up on and a project that needed finishing touches sooner than later, just in case something came up.

* * *

When he got to school the next day, Aoko waved him over to where she was speaking with Keiko, looking far too excited for a Tuesday morning. Was she excited about the gem being returned so soon after the heist? (Another dead end, another waste of time.)

"Kaito, did you hear?" Aoko asked, beaming.

"How should I know? I don't even know what you two have been talking about," Kaito rolled his eyes. Keiko returned the eye roll.

"The whole school has been talking about it, but I guess I'm not surprised you don't remember," Keiko said, shaking her head. "Koizumi Akako is transferring to our class today."

"Koizumi…" Kaito tipped his head back. He thought he remembered someone going by that name in their grade. Someone really popular … Maybe uptight, too, come to think of it…

"Honestly, Kaito, don't you pay _any_ attention?" Aoko asked, puffing out her cheeks. Kaito shrugged; he was a little busy these days. "Akako is the most beautiful girl in the whole school. _Everyone_ is in love with her."

"They used to be, anyway," Keiko amended. "Something happened, and rumor has it whatever power she always seemed to have is gone now."

"I heard it was her grandfather," Aoko said, voice dropping with sympathy. "I think she's all alone now. She must be so lonely…"

Kaito knew immediately what was going to happen. There was an empty seat in front of his chair. Aoko was going to draw this Akako girl into their social circle and make sure she was happy and no longer alone. Kaito sighed and made his peace with it. He just hoped she wasn't _too_ uptight or anything.

Ms. Konno called the class to order and, as Aoko and Keiko predicted, announced the introduction of a "new friend."

"My name is Koizumi Akako. I'm transferring from 2-C. It's a pleasure to meet you all," she bowed. Her voice was softer than he expected, her manner understated. She was beautiful, but she looked like she wasn't sure of herself, like she wasn't comfortable in her own skin.

When she took the seat in front of Kaito, Aoko leaned across her own desk, smiling enough to outdo the sun.

"I'm Aoko and this is Kaito. We're happy to meet you," Aoko introduced.

When Koizumi glanced his way, her eyes seemed to harden for a moment, but she shook whatever it was off. Her smile was weak, but otherwise honest.

"It's nice to meet you." At least when she smiled at Aoko it didn't look forced.

"Keiko, Kaito, and I were going to get ice cream after school," Aoko said, making plans without consulting the other parties involved, as usual. "Would you like to join us?"

Koizumi seemed taken aback, frowning with what Kaito thought was confusion.

"Are you sure? I don't want to get in your way…"

"Nonsense, the more the merrier," Aoko cheered. Koizumi smiled again.

"Then, thank you, Miss Nakamori. I'd love to."

"Please, call me Aoko."

"I would be honored, then, if you'd call me Akako in return."

Aoko smiled for the rest of the day, even when Ms. Konno called on her, trying to catch her off-guard for chatting. Even when Kaito teased her about it, she kept smiling.

* * *

After they were done at the ice cream parlor, Kaito realized that he was going to be going the same direction as Koizumi while Aoko headed to Keiko's to work on their projects together. (Koizumi and Kaito were both finished early.)

Aoko and Keiko waved a cheery goodbye before heading off toward Keiko's house. Koizumi sighed under her breath after her hand dropped.

"Well, seems like we're heading the same way. Do you mind walking together?" Kaito asked. She seemed like she wanted to be alone, or didn't want to walk with _him_.

"We might as well," Koizumi allowed, turning without another word.

Kaito fell into step beside her.

"You know, there was a day not too long ago, I would have been jumping at this chance," Koizumi said after a long moment. "You were the only boy I didn't have under my spell, and I had you in my sights."

"What changed?" Kaito asked, deciding to take the admission in stride. He could worry about the rest later, in private where he could drop his poker face.

"I did. The power I possessed left me. You are the least of my problems now, Kuroba Kaito. I can barely see the future, let alone possess the hearts of men," Koizumi said, her expression turning somewhat melancholy.

Kaito laughed, feeling shaky, "What kind of power did you have again?"

"I was once an heiress to a powerful type of magic. Now, I have barely enough magic in me to do much of anything. It's as good as useless to me," she sighed.

"I guess that means you need to find something new," Kaito tried, rolling with her admissions.

"You're taking this very well, Kuroba."

"I've heard of weirder things than witchcraft," Kaito shrugged.

Koizumi chuckled to herself, "I suppose that's true. After all, a magic gem granting immortality must seem like a silly thing for people to take so seriously in a world as rational as yours."

Kaito's blood ran cold. "Sorry?"

"I told you, I used to be a very powerful witch. I made it my business to know things about the only person immune to my charms. Kaitou Kid was once someone I considered an enemy, but now there's really no point."

"So that's why you told me so much? Sharing a secret because you think you have one of mine?"

"I'm too tired to play this game with you, Kuroba, and frankly, there are other people you should be more worried about learning your family's secrets," Koizumi said, waving a hand. "I have no power with which to destroy you, not anymore."

"That's reassuring," Kaito muttered.

"It should be," Koizumi countered. "I've decided to use the little power I have remaining to help you. Aoko is probably the first person to…" Koizumi hesitated, shaking her head. "For her sake, I've decided to help you stay safe. A storm is brewing, you know. A murder is gathering on the wind, and a dole and a hawk are no match for them alone."

"What?"

"You'll understand soon," Koizumi said. "I'll see you in school tomorrow."

Without another word, Koizumi strolled in the doors of an apartment block three streets from his own house. Kaito crossed his arms, watching the door for a moment. She was a strange girl, that was for sure. And she knew far more than should be possible.

He'd have to ask his mom what she thought he should do.

* * *

"A witch, huh?" Chikage asked, glancing over her shoulder at him, hands pausing over the noodles she was cooking.

"An ex-witch, I think," Kaito corrected, though he wasn't entirely sure what her status was, seeing as she still _had _magic, weak or not.

"Well, I've never been one to turn away a helping hand. Did she say anything else?"

"Yeah, something about birds? Definitely a hawk, and I think the other things she mentioned were supposed to be groups of birds? A murder, like crows, but I don't know what a dole is. There was also a storm involved?" Kaito dropped his head to the counter. "I dunno, Mom, she was very cryptic and very weird."

"A dole is a group of doves, so doves and a hawk and a murder of crows… Either way, it seems like she's been through a lot, if what Aoko said is true, Kaito. Treat her kindly," Chikage turned back to her pot, stirring. "The day may come when we need her help. There is a storm coming, after all. Anything could happen."

"We _are_ chasing a magic gem," Kaito mused.

Chikage laughed, but it sounded strained, anxious. Kaito knew the feeling.


	4. The Great Detective of the West

"Yo, Ran, what did you—who's this?" Shinichi asked, cutting off his greeting and frowning at the guy sitting on a couch across from his best friend. Dark skin, baseball hat, somewhat aggressive posture…

"This is Hattori Heiji. He wanted to meet you, but wasn't sure how to reach you," Ran supplied, shrugging. "Your cell number isn't listed."

"Oh, yeah, and if he tried calling the house, that wouldn't have worked. Mom threw one of our phones at Dad, and the others were tossed out windows," Shinichi and Ran winced in unison. The guy seemed disbelieving.

"What the hell kind of a story is that?" he asked, crossing his arms. Shinichi was surprised by the accent—most likely from Osaka.

"A true one," Shinichi countered. "Not that it's any of _your_ business. What did you need me for anyway?"

"People have been comparing us, and I wanted to see if they had any right to," Hattori said, expression dark.

"Why would they be comparing _us_?" Shinichi asked, glancing at Ran. She shook her head. He probably wasn't a thief, then, so maybe another detective?

"Don't pretend you don't know, asshole," Hattori said, rising to his feet, settling his hands on his hips. "If you're East, then I'm West."

Shinichi considered him. He did remember something in the news about a high school detective in Osaka, but was _he_ getting that well known? He thought he'd managed to keep _something_ of a low profile, although he had been gloating a _little_ bit over the last few cases…

As long as no one suspected his other life, he supposed it would be fine… (People outside Tokyo knew who he was!)

"The Osaka detective, then," Shinichi said. "So, what, you want to compare notes? I have errands to run today, you know?"

"I want to compare deduction styles," Hattori insisted. "I found a case here in Tokyo. Let's see who can solve it first," Hattori grinned.

Shinichi frowned, thinking about it. When he glanced at Ran, she sighed and waved him on, clearly expecting him to accept the challenge. He let himself smile. It had been a while since he'd had a real challenge as a detective.

"Okay, what's the case?"

"A woman's son went missing a week ago; the police have no leads."

"So we're going to work a cold case?" Shinichi sighed, "Guess my errands will have to wait."

* * *

"Thank you for coming to see me," the bereaved mother said, handkerchief pressed to her mouth, hands shaking somewhat. "Please, come in."

Shinichi and Ran followed Hattori in the door. Shinichi glanced around as they walked in—the house seemed normal, if empty. At the sound of footfalls, Shinichi turned his attention to the top of the stairs, catching sight of a kid rounding the corner. Younger sibling?

"Do you have another child, Mrs. Tanaka?" Shinichi asked, eyes resting a moment longer at the top of the stairs before turning to the woman in question.

"Yes," she said, attempting to smile. "My youngest son, Toshiya. He's been so brave… He has friends over right now, as a matter of fact."

"Would you mind terribly if I speak with him, while my friends here speak with you?" he asked, nodding at Ran. The woman seemed surprised, but shook her head.

"I'm not sure what he'll be able to tell you, but you're welcome to speak with him."

Hattori frowned at him, but turned back to Mrs. Tanaka, "So, the police think he's run away?"

Shinichi made eye contact with Ran, making sure she was okay with everything. At her smile and nod, he strode up the stairs.

He didn't have to look long; one door was closed, but had a good deal of noise coming from it. He smiled and opened the door, keeping quiet.

The four kids inside froze.

From what he could gather by their positions, he assumed the young girl was probably their leader, the two boys looking at a pair of shoes were probably her friends, and the last boy standing apart was most likely Toshiya.

"Hello, my name is Kudo Shinichi. I'm a detective. I wanted to ask you a few questions, Toshiya," he said, keeping his posture open, dropping to one knee to better speak with him face to face. The other three kids gasped.

"You must be here about his big brother, too!" the girl exclaimed.

"Too?" Shinichi asked, looking them over.

"Yeah," the smaller boy said, puffing up. "This is _our_ case."

"We were here first," the larger boy continued.

"The three of you must be detectives like me, then," Shinichi said, grinning. They were clearly going to impede his investigation unless he worked with them, and if they were on _his_ side, it would make Hattori's job a little harder. Kids would be easier to cooperate with than that guy.

"We're the Detective Boys," the three said at once.

"I'm Ayumi," the girl began.

"I'm Mitsuhiko," the smaller boy continued.

"And I'm Genta," the larger boy concluded.

"Then, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta, why don't we all work together to find Toshiya's brother?" Shinichi suggested. "I'm sure we'll be able to find him much faster that way."

The three children huddled together, whispering loudly about whether or not they should work with him or not, the odds of him stealing all the glory… Shinichi sighed, smiling at Toshiya.

"You must be very worried for your brother if you went to detectives yourself," Shinichi said. "You must care for him a great deal."

Toshiya nodded, looking earnest.

"I love my brother. He would never run away, not like the police seem to think," Toshiya insisted. Before Shinichi could comment on anything, the other kids broke their huddle.

"We've decided to work with you!" Ayumi declared.

"Excellent," Shinichi said. "Why don't the three of you tell me what you know, and Toshiya can fill in any gaps, hm?"

After piecing through the patchwork chain of events, Shinichi came to understand that Toshiya's brother had left the house a week ago and never come back. There was no reason for him to run away, and he had no known enemies. He was a skilled artist—Shinichi noticed that many of them were copies of great works—a woman had even expressed an interest a sketch he'd done of a famous person. There were no other major clues to be found in his room, except:

His wallet was still in his desk drawer.

"I believe you, Toshiya," Shinichi decided, closing the drawer. "Your brother wouldn't have run away without his wallet, good reason or no. Something must have happened. Do you know anything else?"

After a brief struggle by the children to see said wallet, Toshiya managed to explain a phone call between his brother and his grandmother, one suggesting that a kidnapping was likely. Shinichi frowned.

"Based on this information, your brother must be somewhere close, otherwise he would have taken his wallet." Shinichi opened the bedroom door, startled by Hattori and Ran on the other side. "Oh, hey, ready to go?"

"There's not much point, Kudo," Hattori sighed. "He probably ran away, like the police said."

Shinichi linked arms with Ran, the four children trailing after him.

"Then why'd he leave his wallet behind?" Shinichi asked over his shoulder.

Before leaving, he paused and bowed to Mrs. Tanaka. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'm going to do my best to find your son."

"Us, too!" the kids shouted.

Mrs. Tanaka seemed touched, pressing her handkerchief to her face again.

"Toshiya, are you going with them?" she asked.

"Yeah," Toshiya nodded. "I want to help find my big brother."

"Detective, please look after my son," she told him, expression hard. "I can't lose them both."

"I'll take care of him, ma'am."

When Hattori caught up with them outside, he was scowling.

"What the hell was that, Kudo? Freakin' drama queen, you couldn't pause and explain what the hell you meant?" Hattori crossed his arms, falling into step beside him. "And what's with the brats?"

"We're the Detective Boys," Ayumi declared.

"This case was _ours_ before either of you turned up," Mitsuhiko huffed.

Ran smiled at Shinichi, giggling to herself. Shinichi raised an eyebrow in question.

"They remind me of us when we were little," Ran said. "So sure of ourselves, getting into all kinds of trouble…" Ran looked at them for a moment, wistful. "We'll have to keep them out of harm's way."

"Yeah," Shinichi muttered, unable to ignore the similarities between Ayumi and Ran, especially in their passion and eagerness to help… These kids were going to get him in a lot of trouble. If not now, then soon. He could tell.

* * *

By the time they found the place Toshiya's brother was likely being held, Shinichi could tell Hattori had come to the same conclusion.

"Counterfeiters," Shinichi said, voice low enough to carry only to Ran.

"Then, the sketch he made…"

"Yeah," Hattori agreed.

Shinichi was telling the cops next door of his suspicions, asking them to call for backup, when he heard something strange. Or rather, _didn't_ hear something. Glancing behind him, he groaned. A distinct lack of troublemakers.

At least it looked like Ran had gone after them already.

Shinichi continued explaining to the police, but to no avail. They thought he was being ridiculous, "famous high school detectives" or no. Glancing at Hattori, they made up their mind as one, taking quick steps toward the newspaper's front door.

"At least Ran is with them," Shinichi said, voice low. "They'll be a little safer that way."

"And if they have guns?" Hattori asked. "What would Ran do then? How safe are they, really?"

"Ran is with them," Shinichi reiterated. "Guns or no, Ran is with them."

"You have that much faith in her, huh, Kudo?"

"More than. I'm pretty sure she's the only reason I wasn't killed by some shady organization already. Don't worry. She can handle it."

As they came up to the room everyone seemed to have gathered in, Shinichi felt a presence behind him. He ducked, narrowly missing the first blow and returning with a quick kick to the man's legs while Hattori disarmed him, leveling the gun at his head for a moment. When the man was distracted by something in the room, Hattori flipped the gun and hit the man's temple, hard.

The man went down.

Unfortunately, the situation in the room seemed to have escalated in their absence. From the slight gap between the partially opened door and the wall, Shinichi could see that Ran had two of the kids behind her, but Ayumi and Toshiya were both being held at gunpoint. It sounded like Toshiya's brother was alive, but was begging them to let the children go.

Ran was steely-eyed, biding her time, eyes darting over their assailants and to the door. He pressed the door slightly more open while she was looking, just enough to let her know he was there. Her posture settled, all her focus turning toward the man and woman with the guns.

Hattori touched his arm, frowning, but he shook his head. Not yet

When the woman was gloating over her victory, gloating over their presumed deaths, Shinichi pushed the door open.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, ma'am," Shinichi said, smiling.

"We aren't dead," Hattori concluded, gun resting at his side. Shinichi caught sight of a paint can just inside the room. Perfect.

Shinichi made eye contact with Ran. She grinned.

Before anyone could make a move, Shinichi kicked the paint bucket at the furious woman's gun, now pointing at him, not Ayumi, knocking it out of her hand. The gun went off, startling the children and providing a distraction for Ran who made quick work of the other goon.

After that, Ran gathered Toshiya and Ayumi with the other two kids, keeping them behind her, despite the boys' protests. Shinichi scooped up the woman's gun, keeping it aimed at her head, leaving Hattori to incapacitate the last remaining bad guy and untie Toshiya's brother.

"Seems like your little operation is over."

The door to the room slammed open, the police quickly taking in the scene before them: Four teenagers (one hugging a child, one hovering over the other three children, the last two grinning with guns pointed at disarmed adults) and four children (one hugging a teenager and crying, while the other three huddled behind a young woman's protective stance).

After that, the case was wrapped up quickly, and Shinichi was allowed to escort the children home, Ran and Hattori on either side of him, while Toshiya and his older brother brought up the rear, speaking quietly.

Toshiya and his brother were returned home first and, after gratitude was expressed and backpacks were picked up, the three kids were escorted home as well. The three were starry-eyed and refused to leave Shinichi's side, but they were eventually persuaded to return home, under the promise that Shinichi would teach them about investigating sometime soon. (Unlikely.)

With everyone else settled, Shinichi, Ran, and Hattori turned to walk back to Ran's place. After a long silence had settled, Hattori whistled to himself.

"Still can't get over that maneuver you pulled in there, sis. That was some impressive karate. Kudo was right to put his faith in you."

"Thank you, but it really wasn't all that much," Ran smiled, waving off his compliment.

"And you," Hattori said, turning his attention to Shinichi. "You're not all bad, Kudo," Hattori sighed, crossing his arms behind his head. "I mean, you're _at least_ a decent rival."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, "I think I proved a little more than _that_ tonight."

"Can't the two of you just be happy?" Ran asked, trying to settle any potential dispute in advance. "You reunited a family!"

"I did most of the leg work, though," Hattori said.

"Who thought to ask the kids for information?" Shinichi asked.

Hattori jumped tracks, "Actually, yeah, about that: What the hell, Kudo? You just, what, trusted a buncha brats to tell you the truth?"

"Children are generally more honest than adults," Shinichi said, shrugging. "_And_ they notice more than people give them credit for. The police discounted things Toshiya told them because they didn't consider him credible. That information helped us find his brother."

Hattori huffed, falling silent again until they reached Ran's house.

"I don't think this is over, Kudo. Not by a long shot," Hattori grinned. "I'm sure I'll see you again sometime soon. And you, too, sis. Thanks for having me. Next time you're in Osaka, look me up!"

Hattori swaggered away, heading off to who knew where, be it hotel or train station.

After he'd gone around a corner, Ran laughed, sounding delighted, "I like him. He seems interesting."

"He's an asshole, but he's a decent detective at least."

"So you like him, too, then."

"Yeah," Shinichi snorted. "Don't tell him, though. He'd never let me live it down."

Ran laughed, tugging him inside, "Well, come on, _Detective of the East_. I know for a _fact _you're out of groceries, and your parents are still out of town. I'll make dinner."

"You're amazing, Ran," Shinichi told her, following her up the stairs.

"I know."


	5. A Splendid Rival Steps Into the Light

"Mom, you worry too much," Kaito rolled his eyes, straightening his tie, phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear. "I've done this plenty of times, and Jii's even taking lookout tonight."

"Yes, but you heard what Akako said the other day: 'While the hawk could be a powerful ally, he'd be just as happy eating a dove as a crow.' Kaito, you and I both know that Akako has yet to get one of her predictions wrong," his mother said, probably toying with the hem of her shirt in her anxiety.

Kaito sighed, "Yeah, but her first prediction said the hawk was on our side. So, really, this isn't that big of a deal."

"Yes, but—"

"Isn't your heist with the Starlet important?" Kaito cut her off as he pulled on his jacket and cape, maneuvering his phone accordingly.

"Of course, but—"

"Then focus on that. I'll be here when you get back," Kaito assured her, pulling on his gloves. They didn't need to discuss this being his first heist without her anymore than they already had. "Enjoy France, and don't forget my souvenirs!"

"We should take a break after I get back," Chikage decided, voice sounding almost haunted. "We can go see that new movie together, just the two of us. And we can go see one of your father's shows and surprise him."

"That sounds great, Mom. I'll see you when you get home," Kaito grinned at his reflection, ignoring the tightness in his chest and pulling on his hat before settling his monocle on the bridge of his nose. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Kaito. Please be careful tonight."

"You, too."

Now, it was show time.

* * *

"Seventh of May, 20XX, 7:55.12 p.m. to the second, Inspector," the polished voice answered over his ear piece. Kaito frowned. Why couldn't he answer "what time is it?" with "five to eight" or "7:55" or even "19:55" like a normal person? Just who did this guy think he was?

"Who the hell are you?" Inspector Nakamori asked helpfully.

"Sir, this is—"

"My son."

"Superintendent Hakuba?" Inspector Nakamori sounded… surprised, alarmed. _That_ was a new reaction.

"Yes, Saguru has been working quite a few cases in London; I thought he might learn a thing or two from you while he's here."

"Oh, well, of course, sir, I'd be happy to show him how we do things here in Japan," the inspector boasted, still off-balance. Kaito snorted to himself, shifting to the balls of his feet in the vent.

In his prep work for his entrance, he missed the lead up, but managed to catch Hakuba the younger saying, "Is Kaitou Kid a man or a woman?"

"Probably… a man?" Inspector Nakamori replied, not at all confident.

"What is Kid's age? Birthday? Blood type? Height, weight, hobbies? Favorite sport, food, drink? Taste in women? Taste in men?"

Kaito grinned widely and dropped into the room as he triggered the blackout. In a woman's voice, he projected, making sure his voice couldn't lead back to him just yet. "Oh, my, so interested, _Saguru._ I'm flattered! I am a man, though, of course." After a moment, in Hakuba's own voice, he said, "Or am I?"

In the confusion, he flitted up to the gem in his crosshairs, pulling it out of the case as the backup lights came on.

"As for my hobbies, I enjoy stealing and long walks on the beach," Kaito told Hakuba normally. Hakuba seemed flustered, but did not jump at him as the police quickly did.

"Kid," Nakamori bellowed. "This is one gem you won't steal!"

"Oh, but Inspector… I already have," Kaito winked and pulled his cape about him, triggering a flash bomb and shedding the costume for an officer's uniform and a new face. "There! I think I saw his cape round that corner," he shouted in as generic a voice as he could manage.

True to form, Nakamori leapt at the presented opportunity, sending half after "him" and leaving the other half with, well, also him. Kaito stifled his grin and laugh, making to head for the door. Before he could take more than a step, a hand settled on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, officer, but could I have a word with you?" Hakuba Saguru asked, voice low and dangerous.

Kaito smiled at him. He'd gotten cocky. Shit, this London asshole knew he was Kid. Shit shit shit shit— "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you see, I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you," Hakuba said smugly. "I was wondering if you might be prevailed upon to return it."

_Prevailed upon_, unbelievable. How pretentious could this guy _get_?

"I'm not sure I understand your meaning," Kaito said, frowning. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Quite alright, actually. You see, I couldn't help but notice that you were the only one capable of seeing much of anything after the flash. I could only think of one reason why that would be the case—I'll give you three guesses."

_Smug, pretentious, son of a—_

"Kid's used that trick before; this time, I just covered my eyes. You must not have noticed."

"Hm, is that right? Then why is it that your uniform fits you so poorly?" Hakuba asked, closing a hand around his wrist, far thinner than the bulk of his sleeves would suggest. Before either of them could say anything further, Jii spoke quickly.

"_Young master, duck_," he breathed, panicked. Kaito followed the instruction quickly, taking Hakuba down with him as a shot rang out, passing through where his head once was along with the place _Hakuba's _head once was. _Too close._

Hakuba's eyes grew wide as Kaito rolled him underneath, their cheeks hitting together with the impact. _Ow._

Waiting for just a moment to clear his head, Kaito leapt to his feet, sprinting to the opposite window, holding the gem to the moonlight—no flash of red. He turned, hurrying, shedding his disguise as he did so and grinning wryly at Hakuba, working on opening the window behind his back.

"Sorry, but I'm going to need a rain check on our little tête-à-tête, _Saguru_," he said, pulling on the woman's voice from before. "I'm just getting out of a bad relationship, you see, and I'd rather not let anyone else get in _his_ way."

When Hakuba rose to his feet (quick, but unsteady, Kaito noticed), he tossed him the gem.

"Sadly, this gem isn't to my taste. Don't worry, though, my _ex_ won't want it anymore than I will. I'm sure he won't give you any more trouble tonight, but do be careful, Detective. He doesn't take kindly to people nosing about his business. He's a real _snake_."

Bait laid out, Kaito winked and fell backwards out the window, pulling his glider, ignoring the indignant cry of his nickname.

"Visuals, Jii?"

"Negative, young master, my apologies. They seem to have gone."

"Damn."

Hopefully, Koizumi was right about meeting a new ally tonight—there was no way anyone else could be the hawk. No one else had come as close to "eating him." If luck was on his side, laying out the crows for his consumption would win him over. If luck wasn't on his side…

It didn't bear thinking about.

* * *

Kaito grimaced as Aoko poked at the bruise on his face—he'd fallen a bit harder than he realized, and Hakuba's face was bonier than he would have liked. Aoko was rolling her eyes.

"Don't be such a wuss, Kaito. How did you manage to walk into a telephone pole, anyway?" she asked, snickering. "What, were you looking at a pretty girl or something?"

"Hardly," Kaito grumbled.

"Class, we have a new friend joining us today," Ms. Konno said, interrupting Kaito's follow up.

Kaito glanced once at Aoko and again at Koizumi. Aoko looked interested; Koizumi just looked smug. She knew something, damn her.

"Eighth of May, 20XX, 8:01.47 a.m. Hakuba Saguru, at your service," Hakuba bowed smoothly. Kaito tried to keep his irritation off his face. He'd taken the bait, _but at what cost_. At least he probably knew what Koizumi knew now.

"It seems our hawk prefers the taste of crows and snakes," Koizumi said to herself, chuckling.

"You have a hawk?" Aoko asked.

"The lovely lady also has a hawk? What a coincidence." Hakuba breezed between them, taking the empty seat behind Aoko. "I have a hawk of my own."

"My, is that right?" Koizumi asked. "What an _intriguing_ coincidence. Koizumi Akako; it's a pleasure."

Hakuba smiled and blushed—did he like _Koizumi_?—before bowing his head, "I'm charmed to meet you, Ms. Koizumi."

Koizumi looked extremely pleased, practically preening under his attentions.

"It's nice to meet you, Hakuba. I'm Nakamori Aoko, and this is Kuroba Kaito."

"It's a pleasure, I'm sure," Kaito said reluctantly.

Hakuba didn't seem the least interested in him, though, his gaze flitting between Aoko and Koizumi, blush deepening. Kaito grinned. _That_ was interesting.

"You wouldn't be related to the police inspector I met last night, would you?" Hakuba asked, gathering his wits about him.

"I am," Aoko beamed. "He's my father."

His eyes turned suspicious for a moment, gaze raking quickly over her. Kaito could almost read every thought as it passed through his head: Connected to the inspector investigating Kaitou Kid. Nearly the right height and build from what he likely felt last night, enough for the height to be remedied by heels and the build by extra fabric. Flat-chested enough to masquerade as a man with ease.

"He seems to be a very driven man. I'm sure if anyone could catch Kaitou Kid, it would be him," Hakuba said, almost picking his way through his own sentences.

Aoko grinned, either unaware of or uncaring of his hesitance, "You're a smart man, Hakuba. My dad's absolutely going to catch that damn thief, make no mistake of it."

Hakuba relaxed as the knowledge that she was unlikely to be Kid settled in. Kaito glanced at Koizumi, who was still watching the proceedings with interest. She met his eyes, raising a single brow. The look said volumes.

"_Please._ No one can catch Kid. But Aoko, I meant to ask, wasn't there a shooting last night?" Kaito asked, keeping his voice down, so only the four of them could hear, making sure to drop the hint but not let Aoko get into another argument with him. "Is your dad okay?"

"He's fine. Luckily, he was on his way to the roof." Her eyes went distant as Hakuba's zeroed in on him. "He's been pretty annoyed that some sniper could figure out who Kid was disguised as when he couldn't, but I think he's just glad no one got hurt this time."

"Kuroba, what happened to your cheek, if you don't mind my asking?" Hakuba was picking up everything he was putting down then. That was… probably a good thing. Kaito shrugged, leaning back against the window, miming his pose from the night before, from just before he fell into the night.

"I'd imagine it's along a similar line to yours," he answered, nonchalant, making eye contact and nodding at the matching bruise on his cheek. "I walked into a telephone pole on my way home yesterday."

"Yes, I suppose that is rather similar, although mine was a glass door."

"My, my, I suppose we're the only people with any luck around here, aren't we, Aoko?" Koizumi teased, glancing between Kaito and Hakuba with thinly veiled amusement.

"Really, though," Aoko muttered. "Are you okay, Hakuba?"

"Quite okay, Ms. Nakamori, but thank you for your concern."

"Please, call me Aoko," she laughed. "I'm sure we're going to be good friends, after all."

Blushing, Hakuba replied, "I do certainly hope we all become much better acquainted." His blush faded when his eyes landed on Kaito. "_Much_ better acquainted."

Kaito hoped this was the right decision. Koizumi was never wrong, he reminded himself. She was weird, but never wrong. Kaito made sure to smile like he had a secret, and Ms. Konno brought class to order. The die was cast; all that was left was to see how they fell.


	6. Hattori's Suspicions

_AN: __I just wanted to offer my sincere apology for how long this took to get posted. __I had several parties to attend over the last week, and for three days I've actually been ill. __I'm recovering now, but I was barely able to get up one day, let alone type a chapter._

_As part of my apology for the wait, this chapter is something of a __two-part special, which is to say, I'd normally split it into two chapters, but you guys get it in one for being so patient with me. __The chapter following this one will finally be edging into the main plot, so hang in there!_

_Also, I wanted to put out a sort of unofficial poll: __How do you guys feel about side pairings? __The main ship is KaiShin/ShinKai, but that leaves more than one character without an official love interest-official pairings are generally where I'll be sticking, outside of the obvious departure from that (kaishin). __So, does anyone have a preference for Ran's love interest? __Aoko's? __Akako's? __Hakuba's? Ai's? __Anyone else's? __Leave your answer in a comment, a PM, or an ask to my tumblr if you'd like. __I'll keep all the responses I get in mind and decide where I'd like to go from there._

_Thanks again for reading!_

* * *

Full chapter title: "Hattori's Suspicions and the Girl from the Organization."

* * *

"You know, Conan, I have this weird feeling, like we're being watched," Ran muttered, squeezing his arm a little tighter where it was wound through hers.

He glanced carefully through the crowd, but couldn't see anyone looking at them for longer than normal, couldn't see any reason for them to be in danger. He frowned.

"I'm not sure where it would be coming from," he returned, "I can't see anyone paying us more mind than usual, Irene."

"Also, aren't you worried we might run into Mr. West again?"

"That guy?" Shinichi snorted. "No way a guy like that works on burglars and thieves."

"How do you figure?"

"If I was in his position, no clear ties to theft and fraud, there's no way I'd waste time on 'petty crooks' like us. I'd spend all my time on more prestigious cases," Shinichi said loftily.

"Oy, _Kazuha_, I told you," Shinichi heard someone say in a familiar drawl. "I want to go to lunch, not this boring museum."

"And _I_ told you, stupid Heiji, my dad mentioned there was a notice sent out, and I want you to try your hand at it. We can get lunch _after_," a girl in a high ponytail told _Mr. West_ with clear irritation at being made to repeat herself.

Shinichi closed his eyes.

"What were you saying, _Conan_?" Ran asked, drawing out the syllables of his alias.

"I was saying one of us is very unlucky, and I'm not sure which of us it is, yet." Shinichi reopened his eyes, glancing about the room once more. Exits where they should be, guards where they should be, cameras where they should be—no surprises, outside of the obvious.

"Definitely you. What's our play?"

"We can use them as our escape, deflect his suspicion."

"And if he suspects anyway?"

"I don't know. I'll keep him in the dark about you at least."

"Probably a good idea. We should keep one ace up our sleeve."

"Two, if you count Mom."

"It looks like it's almost time."

"Good luck."

Ran subtly extracted herself from Shinichi, slowly but surely drawing attention to herself as Shinichi slipped to the exhibit in question. He disabled the alarms without hesitation, only pausing to check for the maker's mark—this time a little heart, how _cute_—before placing a note just underneath the item, marking it as the forgery it was.

Given its position of honor, the museum curator must be in on the charade this time…

He locked the case back up and looped back to Ran, extricating her from the attention she'd gathered through what looked like several clumsy steps into several different undercover officers. Leave it to Ran to find the good guys in a crowd of gawkers.

They strode quickly to the bathrooms to shed their disguises before falling into step and returning to the scene of the crime, side by side. Ran was the one to "notice" Hattori.

"Oh, Hattori! What a surprise," she beamed. "We weren't expecting to see you here!"

"No kidding, same here," Hattori said, rubbing the back of his head with a wry grin. "What brings you to Osaka?"

"And how do you know Heiji?" the girl with him, Kazuha, snapped at Ran. Shinichi and Ran glanced at each other.

"We're here for the exhibit," Shinichi began.

"My dad mentioned it a few days ago, and I wanted to go," Ran continued. "As for how we know Hattori…"

"He challenged me to a test of deductions in Tokyo several weeks ago," Shinichi concluded. "I'm Kudo Shinichi and she's Mouri Ran."

Kazuha scowled at them both before turning her glare on Hattori.

"The person you wanted to meet again so badly was a _boy_? Heiji, why didn't you tell me you were gay?" she asked, looking put out.

Shinichi and Ran raised their eyebrows in unison, stifling surprised giggles. Hattori spluttered in apparent indignation, cheeks darkening with a heavy blush.

"I-I'm not—What the _hell_, moron, I ain't gay!"

"There's nothing _wrong_ with it, I just wish you'd said so!"

"There's nothing _to_ say! I'm straight!"

"Then why were you so interested in meeting Kudo again?"

"He's my _rival!_"

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I thought it was obvious!"

Ran and Shinichi failed in their stifling and burst into raucous laughter, leaning into each other and muttering hysterical half-sentences to each other that only spurred them higher. To think that Hattori had been so interested in seeing him again he'd convinced someone so close to him that he had a _crush_ was just _really_ too much.

"I didn't realize you enjoyed our time together so much, Hattori," Shinichi finally said between gasping breaths. "If I'd known, I would have found my way to Osaka sooner."

"Really, Shinichi, it was very rude of you to go so long without calling on your precious rival," Ran chided, lightly smacking his arm. "He was so looking forward to seeing you again!"

"Oh, _ha ha_, assholes, laugh it up, I'm sure you both—"

"He actually did it!" an undercover officer gasped, interrupting Hattori. "He left his note, like he said…"

"How is that possible?" Hattori asked, immediately distracted from his earlier thoughts. He stepped quickly over to the display case, eyeing the note warily.

"This exhibit is a forgery and has been for some time. I apologize for my delay in finding it. At your service as always, Night Baron," Kazuha read aloud from over Hattori's shoulder. "Somehow he's more polite than I imagined."

"Just who is this?" Ran asked, looking perplexed.

"Some polite burglar, looks like," Shinichi shrugged, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.

"Not just some _polite burglar_. The Night Baron is considered a kind of apprentice to the Woman of a Thousand Faces," the officer said, voice hushed. "People have been calling him a genius. Other than the note, he leaves nothing behind, not a trace of himself. Plus he never steals anything, just leaves notes for the police."

"What a weird criminal," Kazuha frowned. "My dad said the Night Baron gives the police advanced notice. Through his assistance, the police have gathered evidence to take down multiple crime families."

"Really?" Shinichi asked. He supposed two counted as multiple. "Then what are people investigating him for? Sounds like his only crime is breaking and entering."

"He's still a criminal," Hattori scowled. "And how do we know this kind of behavior won't escalate? How do we know this is all he's interested in?"

"We don't," Kazuha said.

Ran and Shinichi made eye contact for a moment—as long as he doesn't get hurt, as long as she doesn't mind. They turned back to their companions and watched Hattori gather the clues he could, growing visibly more frustrated as his investigation dragged on.

Shinichi mentally ran through his checklist: he had wiped any potential fingerprints, removed the make up for his disguise and flushed the evidence down the toilet, reversed the shirt he was wearing and tied the jacket around his waist…

All clear.

Based on Ran's look of focus, she did much of the same, nodding at him with a relaxed smile.

"We can't even really do a handwriting analysis or comparison, because the asshole uses _calligraphy_ of all things," Hattori grumbled. His stomach followed suit. He coughed, rubbing the back of his head, while Kazuha rolled her eyes.

"Did the two of you want to get lunch with us?" Kazuha asked. "We can give you a food tour of Osaka!"

"That sounds lovely," Ran beamed, clapping her hands together.

Kazuha flushed a little, like she didn't quite believe Ran's sincerity. Shinichi smirked. She'd figure it out eventually. There was no way Ran was going to let Kazuha out of a friendship with her, especially not when Shinichi "got along" with Hattori.

"Glad we're in agreement. Let's get outta here," Hattori winked, giving them a thumbs-up. Shinichi snorted, but fell into step with him as they turned to the door, Ran chatting happily with Kazuha just behind them.

This should be fun.

* * *

Despite himself, Shinichi enjoyed hanging out with Hattori. He was a motor mouth and an asshole, but he was clever and quick to laugh. Shinichi supposed he was alright. (No one else enjoyed talking about cases with him, so that was nice, too.)

Despite everything, Shinichi thought he could be trustworthy. He clearly valued justice and seemed to have a strong sense of honor. Maybe he could be an ally of sorts in their fight against the criminal element.

Shinichi shot a glance at Ran. She and Kazuha had been discussing something quietly for some time now. He was curious, but he didn't really want to pry, especially not with Kazuha's assumptions from earlier.

(He didn't want to risk her thinking he actually _was_ interested in her… whatever Hattori was to her. He might not technically be gay, but he wasn't exactly straight either. And it wasn't like Hattori wasn't attractive or anything. The only real negatives he had going for him were that he was an asshole and evidently spoken for.)

"You know, Kudo, I've been thinking," Hattori said, dragging Shinichi out of his thoughts.

"Uh oh, did it hurt?" Shinichi said, grinning unrepentantly.

"Oh quiet, you asshole, I was just wondering, how long were you and Sis at the museum?" he asked, considering Shinichi seriously.

"Ran and I? Probably not as long as you and Kazuha. We focused mainly on the other exhibits, to be honest. I think we'd barely gotten to that room when Ran spotted you, why?" This could be a dangerous line of questioning. Shinichi glanced at Ran again. She met his eyes, nodding, before turning back to Kazuha. He'd do what he needed to, then. At least he had permission.

"Like I said, just wondering."

Shinichi and Hattori frowned at each other over their soup. So he suspected his involvement in the Night Baron stuff, but didn't want to bring it up yet. Not enough evidence, plus not wanting to bring the girls into it maybe?

"Shinichi, Kazuha was just telling me about a great store near here. Will the two of you be alright if we leave for a little while?" Ran asked, winking at him.

"I don't mind," Shinichi snorted. "Have fun."

"You're wearing your amulet, right?" Kazuha asked Hattori seriously.

Hattori rolled his eyes and tapped his chest, "Course I am, moron. Never leave home without it."

"Amulet?" Ran asked.

Kazuha pulled a small pouch out from under her shirt. Hattori did the same.

"I made these a long time ago. It's a protection charm. As long as he wears it, Heiji will be safe from harm," Kazuha explained with a proud smile. "It's stopped a knife once, and another time it kept him from being strangled to death."

"Hattori, you should be more careful," Ran said, frowning. She glanced back at Shinichi again, "If Shinichi got into half as much trouble, I don't know if I'd let him leave his _house_ without me…"

Shinichi rolled his eyes.

"That's why I made the charm. It can protect him when I can't be with him."

"Yeah, yeah, _moron_. Now, weren't you two going shopping?"

"Yeah, _asshole_, see you later," Kazuha stuck her tongue out, before walking quickly away. Ran and Shinichi snickered and waved goodbye before Ran followed after her.

"So, do you want to tell me what those questions were about, or would you rather wait for now?" Shinichi asked. "We both know you weren't 'just wondering,' Hattori."

"Yeah, now that Sis is gone I won't feel _as_ weird asking this…" Hattori sighed. "Are you the Night Baron?"

Shinichi snorted, "No beating around the bush, huh?"

"No point. You knew I was suspicious the minute I asked. So?"

Seemed like it was make or break time. Hattori probably already had his answer either way, but that wasn't really the point any more. Hattori was asking him because he respected him. Hattori deserved the same respect.

"Did you know that gathering evidence of forgery rings is actually extremely difficult?" Shinichi asked.

"What?"

"I'd say it's harder than cornering most murderers, actually," Shinichi said. "See, murderers generally only commit the crime once (barring serial and mass murderers), but forgers? They're career criminals. They know the technicalities of the law like the back of their grimy hands."

Hattori hummed under his breath, apparently following along.

"Really, a thief drawing police attention to their crimes would be doing a service," Shinichi continued.

"A thief is a thief."

"Has the Night Baron stolen anything?"

"Not _technically_—"

"Really, it sounded like his only crime was being in places people didn't want him to be," Shinichi mused. "From what I've heard, he doesn't even generally break anything, except the occasional crate."

"Heard from where?"

"Ran's father. He works with fraud and thefts. I eavesdrop a lot when I hang out at her house."

"Does she know?"

"That I eavesdrop? Of course. She usually catches me and drags me away, calling me a busybody detective nerd."

"Don't play dumb, Kudo."

"I won't play dumb if you won't," Shinichi countered. Hattori rolled his shoulders back and nodded as if that was an answer to his question.

"How long?"

"I don't know."

"And you still plan on being a detective?" Hattori asked, looking incredulous now.

Shinichi grinned, "Why wouldn't I?"

"No reason, I guess," Hattori shook his head. "You're nuts, Kudo."

"Not the first time I've heard that."

"Well, if you ever need a hand—not with anything illegal, mind you—gimme a call. You seem to have your heart in the right place. Step a toe outta line and I'll arrest you myself, though."

"Fair enough," Shinichi grinned. "Did you want to exchange phone numbers then?"

"Yeah, might as well. You're pretty cool for a criminal," Hattori winked. "Besides, I could always tell Sis about what you've been up to. Gives me the upper hand."

Shinichi snorted, "True enough. I'd rather if you didn't bring this up with her." That was good enough for him. Now he didn't even have to lie to one of his friends. That would be nice. Hopefully, Hattori would be an ally they could count on when it came down to the wire.

They could always use more allies.

* * *

"They certainly seemed to get along," Ran said, laughing as they walked home together. Shinichi snickered. "I wonder if they…"

"Probably," Shinichi agreed.

"And he didn't have any problem with your… second hobby?"

"Not as much as I thought he would," Shinichi said. "I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but he offered non-illegal help if I needed it with the warning that he'd arrest me himself if my motives changed."

"That was nice of him."

"Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet."

"Either way he doesn't have real evidence yet."

"That's true. Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow, Shinichi. Good night." Ran smiled and waved, before unlocking her door.

"Night, Ran. See you tomorrow."

* * *

Shinichi stopped just short of reaching his front gate, keys in hand. There was a girl lying on the pavement. Short hair, looked to be blonde or light brown. Approximately his age, maybe older, maybe younger. Wearing a lab coat. Collapsed, so an injury was likely.

He knelt beside her and pressed the first two fingers of his hand to the pulse point in her neck. Weak, but there.

The girl was alive.

There was no clear bleeding, no clear injury, so he carefully turned her onto her back, brushing the hair off of her face. He didn't recognize her, so he gently felt her pockets for any form of ID. Finding none, he fell back on his heels and frowned.

The bad luck was definitely his.

"Shinichi? What are you doing out so la—oh dear, is she alright?" Professor Agasa asked, walk shifting into a lumbering sort of jog.

"She was lying here when I got back. Alive, but unconscious—obviously—no outward signs of injury, or at least no bleeding, no ID… I have no idea who this girl is or what to do with her." Shinichi's voice sounded flat to his own ears. He'd thought for a moment that she… And in front of his gate…

Somehow, the possibility of a death so close to his home felt worse than the murders he helped the police with. Perhaps he hadn't helped with a murder in too long. Maybe he was losing his edge.

"Shinichi, help me lift her up. We can take her to my place; she'll be safe there."

"Right, of course."

He lifted her up enough for Agasa to get his arm around her, lifting her up gently. Shinichi fished into Agasa's pocket for his keys and moved wordlessly to his front door, unlocking it and holding it open for him.

Ran would probably say it was good that he found this turn of events a shock. Something about it making him human…

Once they'd settled the girl on the couch, she coughed a few times, curling in on herself.

Her sleeves rolled up to reveal bruises around her wrists—bound, probably by handcuffs. She'd escaped from somewhere then, but why did she come to _his_ door. Was it because he was an unaffiliated detective? Or an unaffiliated thief.

"Here, Shinichi, I made tea. Please have some. It should settle your nerves," Agasa said, smiling kindly. Shinichi took a long drink, closing his eyes.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only 30 minutes, the girl coughed and shifted, groaning quietly before sitting up.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking between the two of them suspiciously.

"My name is Professor Agasa. You're in my house."

"I was looking for Kudo Shinichi."

"You found him," Shinichi said, crossing his arms. "Why?"

"Do you have secrets from this professor?" she asked, eyes flashing as they darted about the room. "Do you trust him?"

"Why do you think you're here and not the hospital?" Shinichi asked her. "You're clearly on the run, and there's no one outside my immediate family I would trust more than Agasa."

"Are you the Night Baron?"

"It's rude to ask invasive questions of people without giving your own name first, _miss_," Shinichi reminded her sternly.

"My name is Miyano Shiho. Are you the Night Baron?"

"Yes."

The girl, Miyano, sighed heavily, sinking into the couch. She pressed a hand to her forehead and started mumbling something to herself.

"She was right; her information was right," Miyano covered her eyes with both hands. Her hands were shaking. "My sister was looking into you for a criminal organization. You've been getting too close to their holdings."

She dropped her hands and met his eyes, expression dark.

"You're lucky, Kudo. My sister saw that you were _good_ and decided to protect you. She covered up your existence, told only me. She died getting me out, getting me to you."

"I'll make more tea," Agasa said, more to himself than anyone else.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"So am I. She told me about what your family is doing. I want to help. If I'm not misremembering connections, your mother is gunning for the organization with a friend of hers, correct?" she asked, running her hands over her bruises as if cataloguing the damage.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"I have a lot of information and a lot of people who want me dead. I have a lot to lose."

"And if you betray us?"

"Then I die before they kill you and your family. The monsters who took my family from me will have won."

Shinichi pulled out his phone, keeping his eye on Miyano. Agasa passed her a cup of tea, asked if she was cold, if she felt alright.

"Mom, I might have found you an informant."

"What? Shinichi, that's great! Who is it?" his mom asked.

"I'll put you on speaker," Shinichi said, frowning. "You can ask her yourself." He pressed the button.

"Hello?" his mother asked.

"Hello, Mrs. Kudo Yukiko, alias, 'The Starlet.' My name is Miyano Shiho, and my sister told me about your plans. I want to help." Miyano took a drink of her tea.

"Miyano… Your sister's name wouldn't be Akemi, would it?"

Miyano visibly froze, knuckles turning as white as the mug she was holding. Her shoulders began to shake. She bit her lip.

"Is Akemi with you? She mentioned she was going to break you out."

Shinichi relaxed. His mother had this under control.

"She's dead. Shot by that _bastard_, Gin."

"Oh, oh no, I had hoped…" his mother sighed. "It's no matter. How are you, Shiho? Are you holding up okay? You're safe now. My son and Agasa will take care of you, and my husband and I will be home in a week."

"I'm _fine_. Can I help or not," she asked, voice hard. She dropped her head, bangs casting shade over her eyes. Shinichi stood and grabbed a blanket from a basket along the wall.

"Of course, dear, of course. You'll be a huge help to us."

"Did my sister tell you what I can do?"

"She told me you're as a good a forger as your parents, but I want you to remember, you will never be forced to do anything. From now on, it's up to you. You can provide what help you want to us. If you change your mind and would rather seek protection, we'll help you arrange that. The choice will always be yours."

"I understand," Miyano said, her voice breaking. Shinichi tucked the blanket around her shoulders and scooped the phone off the table, turning speaker phone off.

"You're off speaker," Shinichi said, leaving the room so Miyano could have some privacy. "Are you sure about her?"

"I am. What about you?"

"Same. We need to figure out where she's staying, but Agasa has offered his guest room for now."

"Bless that man," Yukiko sighed. "How is she, really, Shinichi?"

"Physically? Bruises on her wrists, maybe a blow to the head," he said, leaning against the counter in the kitchen. "Emotionally? Devastated. She just lost her self-described family."

"You would have liked her sister, I think. She always reminded me a little of you. She tried to protect Shiho like you protect Ran."

Shinichi clenched his fist, closing his eyes.

"She's a forger?"

"She can craft exact replicas of any gem you set in front of her, given time and materials. She's a genius."

"As long as she's on our side. She looks barely older than me. Is she going to have to go to school?" Shinichi asked.

"No, I expect not," Yukiko laughed, weak though it sounded. "I think it would do her good to have a few friends, though. When I get back, we'll see about introducing her to Ran, too."

"If she stays with the professor, he might end up roping her into babysitting duty," Shinichi said, somewhat absently.

"Maybe that'll do her good, too. How did everything else go today, Shinichi?"

"It went fine. I ended up suggesting the truth to Hattori Heiji," he admitted.

"You trust him?"

"He's a good person. Just and loyal, if a bit hot-headed."

"He only knows about you?"

"Until you decide to reveal yourself."

"That's my boy. Tell Ran and the professor 'hi' for me, dear. I'll see you in a week."

"Love you, Mom."

"Love you, too, Shinichi."

Shinichi hung up and returned to the living room, slipping his phone into his pocket. Agasa was sitting beside her on the couch, smiling encouragingly. When Shinichi coughed, raising his eyebrows, Agasa turned the smile on him.

"We were just coming up with a cover identity for her; care to hear it, Shinichi?" Shinichi waved him on, rubbing the back of his neck, exhaustion making its presence known now the excitement was over.

"My name is Haibara Ai," she told him, eyes red and cheeks damp. "I'm Professor Agasa's niece. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Welcome to the team, Haibara," Shinichi said. "It's good to have you on board."


	7. Kaito Meets the Noble and the Sparrow

I'm extremely sorry for how long this has taken me. This chapter has been written twice, but this is the one that actually sounds decent. The next chapter should be along a bit faster. (It will be the eqivalent of the Black Star heist, if all goes according to plan.)

Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Kaito leaned over his new book, pulled along by the suspense. His mother had apparently gotten it from a friend of hers who knew the author, and Kaito was hooked only 100 pages into book one: _Damien Corbeau, Gentleman Thief_. The hero, Kaitou Corbeau, as he was known to the police, was just about to tell his lover his true identity, despite knowing her brother was a detective…

"Kuroba, I have a warning for you," Akako interrupted. He buried his surprise and mild alarm under a cool façade. She did not need to know she could still sneak up on him. Absolutely not.

"Busy. Can it wait?"

"No," she said, rolling her eyes. She leaned back and settled one hand on her hip, flipping her hair off her shoulder with the other. "Besides, shouldn't you be studying? Your exam is in an hour, isn't it?"

"My exam for _lighting?_ I've got that in the bag. The prof _loves_ me."

"I meant the chemistry exam."

"Shit," Kaito groaned, tucking his bookmark in with a defeated pout.

"That's what I thought," Akako said, smug and preening with it.

Sometimes, when Kaito was feeling especially vindictive, he missed the defeated and quiet Akako from before. She, at least, was easier to deal with than the confident and vicious Akako she'd become after high school. Although, the new Akako _was_ happier…

"Now, Kuroba, pay close attention: Danger is lurking in the shadows, though a noble ally also lies in wait. With the sparrow on your side, the storm can be weathered."

"Akako, seriously, _why_," Kaito pressed a hand over his eyes. "Just—can't you speak without the cryptic bullshit for once?"

"If I speak without my, ah, 'cryptic bullshit,' your death will be at hand. Bear that in consideration. I will only speak plainly if the straits are truly _dire_." Akako looked away. "As it happens, I'd rather if it didn't come to that. You're annoying, but you are my friend, despite the odds."

Kaito frowned at her, considering. They'd known each other for going on three years now, but this was probably the first time she'd ever actually admitted to considering him a friend. A grin split his face.

"Aw, Akako, you really do care!" Kaito gathered his things and started to walk, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I always knew you must like me at least_a little_, but to find out you consider me a _friend_, well, I'm _honored_, Akako!"

"You should be," she huffed, choosing to ignore the arm instead of shrugging it off. "Besides, you need all the friends you can get, especially with Hakuba traveling as often as he has been…"

"You worry too much. If anything, you should be more worried about Aoko's plans for this weekend." Kaito winked. (He wasn't worried about _Hakuba_. The guy was tracking leads on some pretty bad people working with the "storm" or "crows" or whatever Akako wanted to call them. He'd be fine, probably.)

"Ah, you mean the surprise party she's planning for me."

"The very same."

"As long as she keeps it small this time, I'm sure it will be fine," Akako sighed, eyes betraying her fondness. "Should I expect a present from you or a performance?"

"You could say my _presence_ itself will be a _gift_," Kaito grinned. She sighed again, not amused by his excellent pun.

"Good luck on your chemistry exam, Kuroba. And good luck against the sparrow—he might not seem like much of a threat, but he and his partner are more observant than they let on. His eyes might be sharper than our hawk's."

"Like that could ever happen," Kaito rolled his eyes, dropping his arm. "See you later."

She waved without looking back, walking on to whatever class she had next. Kaito sighed and hunted down a place to do some last minute cramming. How could he forget _chemistry_? This was definitely not a good sign. No wonder Akako had given him her warning.

* * *

Despite her warnings, Kaito could not seem to catch a break.

First, his car's battery died. He didn't have time to replace it or jumpstart it, so he was stuck taking his motorcycle. His motorcycle was very flashy, which meant he needed to slightly alter his disguise with that in mind. Having to switch plans on such late notice made him fashionably late to the start of the Suzuki family's gala. Luckily, the persona he had in mind was the type of person to arrive several minutes late to things.

As he swept into the ballroom, he surveyed the attendees—mostly the fabulous and the fabulously wealthy. The Suzuki family was in the center of the large room holding court, minus the youngest daughter who was against a wall speaking with three other people.

Inspector Nakamori and his officers were spread throughout the room, especially at the exits and near the guests of honor, Suzuki Reina and her soon-to-be fiancé Nakayama Taiga. Miss Reina was a cousin of Ayako and Sonoko Suzuki, hence the fantastic engagement party the family was throwing for her.

At the peak of the evening, Nakayama would present his would-be bride with a necklace called The Moon and Stars, a beautiful rainbow moonstone pendant strung onto a necklace with six pure star sapphires flanking it on either side.

It was considered a sign of good fortune for the couple it belonged to—if the couple failed to present and accept the gift, however… Well, eternally unlucky in matters of the heart was a pretty heavy burden to bear. (He hoped this necklace wasn't Pandora.)

The story behind the necklace was pretty romantic all said, Kaito thought. Most of the gems he went after had tragedies attached, but this story was overwhelmingly positive. Two lovers were separated by both circumstance and objections made by either family. Before the man was sent off to war, he gifted his lover with the necklace as a sign of his love.

"Our love is like the moon and stars, shining even through the darkest of nights," the man reportedly told his lover. "When things seem hopeless, remember this and be at peace: I swear I will return to you once the war is over. Nothing on this earth could keep me from your side."

The woman wore the necklace every day her lover was at war, and every day, she was beset by suitors intent on "stealing" her away from the love of her life, some of whom were no doubt arranged for by her parents. Every day, she turned the men away, one hand ever resting on the pendant as she thanked them and sent them away with a sad smile.

As he'd promised, her love returned to her after many years, scarred and wearied from his battles, but as earnest in his love as when he'd first given her his promise. The woman's parents were so impressed by the man's honor and courage in battle that their prior objections seemed petty. The man's were equally impressed by the woman's constancy and fidelity, and their objections were likewise deemed irrelevant.

The two were married the following spring and lived happily ever after, and the necklace was passed down from mother to son for generations. Even after the family line was broken, the necklace was continually given to a person's lover as a sign of their love and their hope for their future. The necklace was said to bless the union of those who gave and received it, while those who were unable to give their love the necklace were considered cursed, their marriage doomed.

It all seemed a bit heavy for such a sappy love story, but Kaito figured people needed an excuse for their superstitions. He'd seen enough "cursed" jewelry to have figured that out—though he'd yet to find a stone capable of granting immortality…

Normally, Kaito wouldn't have bothered with this gem, but it had been a while since his last heist and there were whisperings of a different group attempting to steal the necklace, possibly just to destroy the impending marriage of Nakayama and Miss Reina.

Someone stealing the necklace before it could be given to the bride-to-be would certainly be a bad omen to those who believed in them.

As his eyes drifted past the happy couple, they fell on someone who had no right to be there, especially not when he was _supposed_ to be in London. Why hadn't he called ahead?

He was still staring intently at Hakuba when Hakuba caught his gaze. Before Kaito could wonder if he'd been recognized, Hakuba smirked at him nodding subtly toward the younger Suzuki sister, Sonoko. Kaito raised an eyebrow and turned to give her another look. (No use wondering how Hakuba had recognized him, really.)

She was still standing where he'd last seen her, speaking animatedly with a young woman and two men. She was leaning into one of the men, likely her boyfriend, Kyogoku Makoto—not someone to mess with—and waving a piece of paper at the other man. If he wanted to see what she was holding, he'd have to get closer…

When he looked back at Hakuba, he'd already moved on, speaking with Nakamori. Damn. He'd just have to slip closer then.

"Come on, are you a detective or aren't you?" Sonoko was saying, still waving the page at her friend. The guy sighed. (Was this why Hakuba had sent him over here? There was another detective in attendance? Did Hakuba think he was actually a threat?)

"Sonoko, I'm not going to explain the notice to you just so you can meet Kaitou Kid. Besides, your boyfriend is _right there_. Doesn't this bother you, Kyogoku?" the guy asked, crossing his arms. (Explain, not solve, meaning he already knew what the notice meant. Interesting, if he got it right.)

Kyogoku shrugged impassively, "Not really. She chose me, after all."

Sonoko beamed up at him, throwing her arms around him and pressing a kiss to his rapidly-reddening cheek.

"You're out of excuses, so help me out, already," Sonoko whined.

"You might as well tell her, Shinichi. You know how she gets," the other girl said reasonably. Kaito sincerely hoped he'd listen to his friend. He needed to know how much trouble this was going to be.

Before the guy, Shinichi, said anything, though, he and the reasonable girl both noticed him at almost the same time. The girl only looked curious, but the guy looked almost immediately suspicious, shifting his stance accordingly.

"Need something?" he asked Kaito.

"Ah, sorry," Kaito bowed awkwardly, "I only wanted to pay my respects to Miss Suzuki. You look lovely tonight," he bowed again. "My apologies for interrupting."

"Masayoshi, wasn't it?" Sonoko asked, tipping her head in consideration.

"Yes, ma'am," he smiled, quickly covering his surprise. He'd only used this alias around her _once_. How did she remember his name?

"Thank you for the compliment. It's good to see you again. You were an aspiring magician, weren't you?" she asked.

"I am. It's very kind of you to remember as much," he said, bowing again. She waved it off.

"You should go say hello to my sister. I'm sure she'd love to speak with you again. No one else talks with her about film at these things, you know?" she smiled.

"I'll be sure to do that. Sorry again for the interruption," Kaito bowed for the last time before leaving, fading into the surrounding crowd. He'd have to be careful about her. She was more observant than he'd given her credit for and her friends were definitely onto him, at least until she addressed him by name…

He glanced back, startled to meet the guy's eyes again. Caught, he turned back to Sonoko, evidently explaining the heist notice now that Kaito was out of earshot. Just his luck.

"So, what do you think?" Hakuba asked from his side. The instinctive jump was channeled into a slow turn. "He's sharp, isn't he?"

"Fairly," Kaito shrugged. "What are you doing here, Hakuba? I thought you were in London for another week?"

"I was supposed to be, but one of my leads hit a dead end. Besides, Nakamori mentioned a party for Koizumi and a Kid heist on the same weekend. I could hardly miss either," he said, smirking. "His name is Kudou Shinichi, by the way. Some people call him the Detective of the East."

Shit. He'd definitely heard of someone like that…

"The Heisei Holmes," Kaito sighed. This was such a bad day for this.

"The very same," Hakuba said, glancing back. "I've spoken with him, and he figured out your riddle as quickly as I did, at least."

"Well, that's not saying much," Kaito teased. Hakuba shoved at his arm, rolling his eyes.

"Be serious, please. If you're not careful, you could lose to this one."

"That's certainly a problem. I thought I was only allowed to lose to you, detective."

"Exactly, _burglar_. You need to be careful tonight."

"You are the second person to tell me that," Kaito mused. "Guess I should heed both warnings, huh?" He snorted a laugh. "Well, I better get going, detective. It's almost show time."

Kaito slipped away into the crowd and made his way to one of the doors out of the ballroom, making note of any suspicious characters (two men, one woman). When he looked back, Hakuba and the new guy (_Kudou_) were both discussing something intently with the occasional addition from the inspector.

That was probably not a good thing.

He slipped out the door toward the bathrooms without drawing much notice from the guards. From the bathroom, changing and slipping into the vents were child's play. He tuned his earpiece into police frequencies and settled in above his entrance to wait.

"Listen, kid, I know what I'm doing here. I don't appreciate detective wannabes getting in the way."

"Inspector Nakamori, I agree with Kudou. It's highly likely this line means Kid will literally 'descend from the stars,' meaning we should definitely do a sweep of the ventilation system."

_Damn it, Hakuba_, Kaito thought.

"Not you, too, Hakuba," Nakamori groaned. "Listen, let me do my job. I know your father has given you permission, but this kid is a nobody as far as I'm concerned."

Kaito winced in sympathy. If this guy had half the pride Kaito did… Well, Kaito steeled himself for a harder fight than he was initially anticipating. A detective's pride was on the line, and Kaito wasn't going to risk getting caught just because Nakamori pushed some buttons.

Before Hakuba or Nakamori could say anything else, Kaito dropped a smoke bomb and followed after it, landing on the stage just in front of the happy couple. Nakayama was quicker than Kaito was expecting, pulling Miss Reina behind him without hesitation. How sweet.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Kaito projected. "Excuse me for interrupting you all on such a fine evening, but, you see, I also wish to pay my respects to the happy couple." Kaito turned to smile at the couple in question. "Would you allow me to look at that necklace for just a moment? You have my word that it will be returned to you safely. I only wish to be sure this gem is as it should be."

"You promise you'll return it?" Miss Reina said, stepping out from behind her fiancé to both his and the inspector's alarm.

"You have my word, miss. I am not one of those who wishe to ruin your happiness."

She strode forward and held out the gem. The audience behind them gasped, though it was hard to hear beneath Nakamori's bellows. (He hadn't heard Hakuba _or_ the new guy yet…)

Kaito accepted it with a bow, grateful for both her cooperation and the skylight over the stage. He'd calculated the time just right—the moon shone directly onto his position, making it easy to check the gem.

It wasn't Pandora.

Turning back, he took a knee, presenting Miss Reina with her necklace once more.

"Thank you, miss, for allowing me a moment with your necklace. I wish you both happiness in your future together." Kaito rose to his feet once more, winking at them both and bowing. "Farewell." He dropped another smoke bomb and vanished back into the crowd below, swiftly changing into his previous disguise.

He took three steps out of the smoke when someone brushed past him, leaving something in his pocket. Spinning did not grant him a look at the person, so he resigned himself to seeing what they'd left behind. In his left pocket was a folded note written in calligraphy.

_You should be more careful, Kaitou Kid.__Your detective caught a few rats in his trap today, but there was more than one crow ready to strike had I not intervened.__They have sharp eyes and sharper knives.__\- Night Baron_

What the hell.

What. The hell.

He refolded the note and tucked it into one of his hidden pockets, scowling internally. What the hell was a _Night Baron_? How pretentious was _that_? And who did he think he was, Tuxedo Mask? Kaito was _not_ Sailor Moon in this scenario, no matter how well the theme fit.

"You were such a good distraction tonight, we managed to nab all three people who wanted that gem," Hakuba preened, startling Kaito with his appearance. "Kudou caught one even _I_ hadn't noticed. She wanted to ruin the marriage more than take the gem, so she wasn't really on my radar."

"Hakuba, do you have a _crush_?" Kaito asked, quick to bounce back. "Do you want to solve crime together and adopt dogs?" Kaito crooned, batting his eyes at him. Hakuba huffed, but blushed just slightly.

"Hardly. Kudou is a good detective, that's all. And he's read Sherlock Holmes as well, so we had a lot to talk about." Hakuba frowned. "More importantly, aren't you worried about him knowing one of your aliases?"

"Pfft, no," Kaito snorted. "He doesn't have any proof, so it's fine."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, have you decided what to get Akako for her birthday yet?"

"A soul, maybe."

"Be serious, please."

"I _am_; the woman clearly doesn't have one. Wouldn't that be a thoughtful gift?"

"Not even remotely. Aoko would hit you."

"Probably. Well, looks like it's time for me to go. I hope you have fun with _Kudou_."

Hakuba laughed sarcastically, but slipped away from his side. Kaito frowned to himself. He knew why Hakuba hadn't chased after him, but Kudou… What was _Kudou_ doing? He glanced over his shoulder, eyes finding Kudou's faster than expected.

Kudou was watching him.

If he knew… wouldn't he have turned him in already? Why wasn't he…? The girl with him laughed at something, grabbing his arm. Kudou looked away.

Kaito shivered. The guy was intense to say the least. Hopefully, he wouldn't turn up next time. He was too unnerving by half. As he was stepping toward the door, the guard stared at him, faltering.

"K-Kaitou Kid," he shouted. Kaito blanched, gesturing at himself uselessly, as if asking if the guard meant him. The guard used his radio to put out the alert.

Kaito bolted.

The next 20 minutes were spent dodging the cops at every turn, never quite able to make a clean get away. Who had smeared some kind of paint on the sleeve of his jacket?

_What had he done to deserve this?_

* * *

"Well, Kuroba, did you meet them?" Akako asked while Aoko was distracted by one of Hakuba's stories.

Kaito sighed, "I think so? The sparrow is an asshole, and the "noble" ally is a _pretentious_ asshole."

"Is that right? Well, then, I'm sure the two of you will get along famously. At least, you will someday," she chuckled cryptically, sweeping away to rejoin their friends' conversation, her new sapphire bracelet (appropriately from Aoko) flashing in the room's light.

_Didn't she mean three…? Oh well, whatever_, Kaito sighed again, putting on a smile. It was his time to shine. After all, what was a party without entertainment?

"Now, are you all ready for my Super Special, One-Night-Only, Birthday Extravaganza?" Kaito beamed, clapping once. Akako smirked at him while Aoko cheered. Hakuba only raised his eyebrows as if he was unimpressed.

Challenge accepted.


	8. Shinichi vs Kaitou Kid

"So, what, the guy just spent the whole night staring at you?" Hattori asked, both eyebrows rising in disbelief. Shinichi snorted, shaking his head as he swallowed his drink.

"Not the _whole_ night, just… a suspiciously long portion of it." Shinichi glanced away for a moment, considering a few of the patrons. Three of them appeared to be in the middle of an argument… "How did you know I was who I am?"

"Besides the fact you told me?" Hattori asked. "It was a timing thing. I'd been looking into the guy for Kazuha, and when you showed up, I realized a lot of the heists matched up with your movements. From there, it was just a matter of confronting you. And you told me the truth, which was pretty shocking in itself."

"You're telling me," Shinichi muttered. "One of the rashest decisions of my life."

"And one of the best?" Hattori tried.

Shinichi grinned, "One of the best."

"Anyway," Hattori continued, shaking off the somewhat dopey grin with a cough, "why are you bringing this up now?"

"I wanted to compare our methods," Shinichi shrugged. "As I thought, we did things differently."

"Do tell," Hattori said, waving him on.

"Part of it was the staring, I'll admit," Shinichi began, thinking back to the other night. "He was bizarrely curious about me, and I saw him speaking with one of the detectives more than once. There was something about him that reminded me of, well, me when I'm working."

"Like attracts like?" Hattori smirked.

"Something like that." Shinichi frowned when he considered how the night had continued. "There were several others after the jewel—you know that already—but there were also a few people focused on the thief entirely. Dressed in all black and wielding knives."

"Do you think…?" Hattori leaned forward, eyes flashing.

"I do. Although I'm not sure how willing he'd be to work with us after I…" Shinichi smiled a little sheepishly, touching the back of his neck.

"Kudou, you _didn't_."

"I put paint on his sleeve and told the police that I'd marked the thief."

Hattori laughed loudly, drawing attention from other patrons, not including those still in the middle of now-hushed discussion. Shinichi snickered a little helplessly, shushing him without much effect.

"I cannot believe—Why on earth?" Hattori asked between guffaws, arm wrapped around his middle and tears pricking at his eyes.

"The inspector said I was some useless kid and a nobody," Shinichi huffed with remembered offense. "So, in retaliation, I rounded up the criminals, kept the thief from being murdered, and tagged him for easier capturing. Well, what _should_ have been easier capturing. He slipped right out of their fingers."

"Never change, Kudou, never change," Hattori laughed.

"Kimiko? _Kimiko?_" a man screamed from the back of the room, one of the people Shinichi had noticed earlier. Shinichi and Hattori made eye contact, frowning.

"Maybe we should take Kazuha's advice and get checked for curses," Hattori grumbled. "I'd like to hang out _without_ having to solve a murder every now and again."

"Hear, hear," Shinichi sighed. Regardless, they both stood, Hattori dialing 911 while Shinichi pushed closer to the woman whose head was on the table. He pressed his fingers to her wrist, and sighed.

No pulse.

He glanced at Hattori and shook his head.

"This is Hattori Heiji; I need the police," Hattori said, rattling off the name of the restaurant. "Yes, right away, someone's died. … Yeah, it's looking that way. … Great, thanks." He nodded at Shinichi, before striding over to the restaurant's manager, explaining the situation, before taking a spot near the door to keep anyone from leaving.

Shinichi made a cursory examination of the crime scene: No blood, so likely cause of death was poison. Everything seemed to be as it was, not including the other people sitting at the table. Each person seemed to be ready to leave, belongings gathered. Searching would be relatively simple.

There were three people at the crime scene, all apparently friends or acquaintances of the victim. The woman seemed almost too distraught, her sobbing almost theatrical. The two men were both more stoic, but seemed too tense.

Shinichi already hated when _everyone_ was a suspect, but it was worse when they were _all_ hiding something. Shinichi sighed.

Why couldn't he hang out with one of his best friends without someone dying?

* * *

Luckily, because Hattori was there, between the two of them, they managed to wrap the case up in no time. The people there had been part of a five-person team of robbers, stealing from affluent neighborhoods when they were teenagers. The victim had used that information to blackmail the fifth member of their team, leading to their suicide.

The other three found out and felt betrayed. So, in revenge and fear of being blackmailed in turn, they agreed to kill the victim for her actions. As all three planned it, all three were taken away in handcuffs. Hattori and Shinichi watched them go; Shinichi sighed.

"Thank you, boys, for your hard work today. You were a big help," Inspector Megure said, smiling. "If it weren't for you, we never would have found that bottle of poison _or_ the photo of their friend."

"It was nothing, Inspector," Hattori said, his grin belying his modesty.

"We were happy to help," Shinichi said. He was about to say something else when his phone vibrated. He frowned and pulled it out of his pocket.

_Hey, detective nerd, Uncle Jirokichi wants to see you. __I already told Ran, so you _have _to come now, okay? __Get over to the tower as soon as you can. __I'm counting on you!_

"What, is it Sis?" Hattori asked, glancing at the phone over his shoulder.

"No, Sonoko," Shinichi frowned. "Her uncle wants to see me."

His phone vibrated again: _Sonoko has a case for you! __Meet you there?_

"This one is from Ran," Shinichi told Hattori, rolling his eyes. "I guess I've been called away. Do you want to come with, or do you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Kazuha was asking when I was planning on coming home, so I guess I'll do that," Hattori shrugged. "Next time, you should come to Osaka, okay? Don't be a stranger! And let me know how things go with," he lowered his voice, "your new _friend_, okay?"

"Of course," Shinichi promised. "I'll walk you to the station. It's on my way anyway."

"Sounds good, Kudou."

* * *

"Well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Sonoko said, smirking at Shinichi. Shinichi sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I was at lunch across town, what do you expect?"

"Oh?" Sonoko raised her eyebrows. "Could it be… the mystery geek had a _date_?"

"Yes," Shinichi said flatly. "Hattori and I had a lovely date together. We're thinking a June wedding." Shinichi snorted. "No, we got lunch and solved a murder. Same as we usually do when we hang out."

Ran giggled into her hand, while Sonoko huffed and rolled her eyes.

"No need to get all snarky with me. You can't blame a girl for asking, can you? I mean, Ran's been going on dates, so why don't you? Or… are you still in love with her?" Sonoko asked, leaning forward and smirking.

"I've already told you, I'm not," Shinichi closed his eyes, pressing two fingers to his forehead, trying to alleviate the mounting headache. "I'm just busy, and I haven't met anyone I want to date. Not everyone is going to find someone as easily as you found Makoto, alright?"

"Alright, alright," Sonoko said, holding up her hands. "Anyway, my uncle should be out of his meeting. He wanted your advice, since he heard you almost caught the person he's after!"

Almost caught…

"You can't be serious," Shinichi groaned.

"Yep," Sonoko beamed. "My uncle's going to try and catch Kaitou Kid!"

"Sonoko, I already told you, I'm not interested in chasing thieves," he protested. He couldn't help but wonder if the man had left another notice with a riddle attached… And if he could catch the thief alone, he could try to ask about the people who were after him…

"I know that face," Ran teased, nudging his shoulder with hers. "Uninterested, huh?"

"That's the look of a detective on the job," Sonoko cheered. "My uncle will be so happy; this way he can have a better chance of catching him, _and_ I'll get a chance to see his face before he's arrested!"

Shinichi was about to protest when her uncle approached them.

"Kudou?" he asked. Shinichi nodded. "Good, come with me, and I can show you the thief's target and his notice. The police won't tell me anything about their investigation," Jirokichi huffed, apparently offended.

Shinichi followed him, shoving his hands in his pockets. Ran and Sonoko were speaking softly behind him. Shinichi stifled a sigh. Why bother protesting at this point? He wanted to meet Kid anyway.

"This is a treasure of my family, the legendary pearl, the Black Star." Jirokichi went on to explain the pearl's history (boring), and the heist notice (not boring).

Shinichi frowned at the notice, ignoring the explanation of what the police had figured out thus far. With a notice like this, with the wording as it was… He pulled out his phone, looking something up. He could feel the triumphant grin spread over his face.

The first part of the clue was the only tricky part, really. Wasn't there something special about the first of April? Actually, "April Fool" was sounding familiar…

He turned sharply back to the display case, examining the pearl closely. Startled, he laughed.

"Honestly, Shinichi, aren't you going to tell us anything?" Ran asked, huffing. "We aren't mind readers, you know? What have you figured out?"

"He'll definitely be paying the display a visit tonight," Shinichi said, still grinning. The thief was smart, he'd give him that. The notice was a particularly fun puzzle, and an even better taunt to the old man. He laughed again, shaking his head.

"There's nothing I can tell you that will help you catch him this time," Shinichi said, turning and walking away. "When he reschedules, call me. I'll be able to help you then."

"When he reschedules…?" Jirokichi asked. "Wait, what do you mean by that?" he shouted. Shinichi just waved over his shoulder.

He had more important things to worry about, like planning for their next meeting. Kid could choose the time and place, but Shinichi was going to be ready for him when he did.

* * *

Shinichi adjusted his bowtie with a sigh. He hated glitzy parties like this, hated all the fancy people and fancy foods. He couldn't help but expect someone to die every time he attended one—all these wealthy people had plenty of motives to kill any one of the other guests, he'd found.

This time, everything seemed to be going smoothly, the guests too distracted by the impending heist to really focus on causing trouble themselves.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ran asked, settling in at his side after her trip to the bathroom, her red dress brushing across his pant leg.

"Anyone here could be him or one of his enemies."

"That's certainly true," she said, although something about her expression felt a little off. He considered her more closely, but she'd turned her attention to the stage up front. Sonoko's mother was giving some instruction to pick a codeword with the closest person.

"I'll be Holmes, of course," he told her, smiling.

"Then, I'll be Lupin."

Shinichi froze. Ran would never…

This was his chance. Ran was capable of taking care of herself, and Kid called himself a gentleman. She was… probably fine for the time being. As long as Kid didn't know he knew, he had the advantage. (And he could get his revenge for Ran later.)

Shinichi shot the imposter a smile. It was regrettable that Shinichi had played his hand early, but he was adaptable, he could work around this.

"Do you have any idea who has the real pearl?" Kid asked, glancing at his own. Shinichi hummed noncommittally.

"I have a few people in mind," Shinichi hedged.

"Tease," Kid laughed, nudging his shoulder.

"They're only guesses right now, of course," he lied. Finding the pearl had been easy. He'd expected the challenge to be finding Kid, but… He glanced at "Ran" before turning his attention to the crowd. Well, what was left of the night would be interesting, he supposed.

Ran was going to be pissed.

* * *

When the Kid impersonator was "shot," the genuine article beside him flinched. His (her? their?) expression turned briefly angry before smoothing out to Ran's expression of surprise as the impersonator rose to his feet.

Shinichi let Kid get ahead of him, hanging back long enough to carefully pull the knife from a guest's jacket pocket with a well-timed bump. He found the inspector in the crowd, slipping up to his side.

"Inspector," Shinichi began.

The man jumped, "_Jesus_, kid, you scared the crap out of me. What do you want? Is it Kid?"

"No, but I found a man I believe to be after Kid. I… acquired his knife when he wasn't looking," Shinichi said. "I think you'll find this belongs to an assassin. He's over there. The one in the blue suit." Shinichi subtly pointed him out.

"I'll look into it. But kid, you really shouldn't… You've contaminated a piece of evidence."

"I'm wearing gloves, inspector. This isn't my first investigation," Shinichi said, feeling somewhat petulant. "Do you have somewhere to hold this?"

The man provided an evidence bag. Shinichi dropped the knife into it, nodding once.

"Then, if you'll excuse me, Inspector," Shinichi bowed briefly and slipped back into the crowd before the inspector could lecture him on protocol. He'd learn in time. Megure didn't even blink at it anymore, although he didn't usually resort to pick pocketing while on murder investigations…

"Shinichi!" Not Ran called, waving happily. "Where'd you run off to?" Kid's expression flickered briefly between bright and dark before stabilizing once more. "Never mind, Sanada was just about to show us a card trick." He grabbed Shinichi's arm and pulled him to the front with Sonoko.

During the trick, Shinichi watched with some surprise and amusement as Kid placed his own card on the top. When did he have time to prepare that? Did he know about the staged show with the imposter?

As his no doubt planned chaos ensued, Shinichi followed curiously, moving through the crowd to Mrs. Suzuki's side. When she fell and Not Ran knelt to help her up, Shinichi was sure of what would happen next. And sure enough, when they both stood, the pearl was gone.

Shinichi thought her scream was a little much, but sympathized. There was no way Kid was leaving with that pearl, but losing it was no doubt a shock. Shinichi grabbed "Ran's" hand, beaming.

"Ran, I've got a lead on Kid, I saw him leave this way," Shinichi said, putting on the boyish "solved it" smile Ran was always teasing him about. Kid fell for it hook, line, and sinker, letting Shinichi pull him out of the main hall and into the bowels of the ship.

"Do you think Kid is down here somewhere, Shinichi?"

"I know it," Shinichi said calmly. Before spinning around. "Now, what did you do with Ran," Shinichi asked, forcing him against the wall and making sure to cut off a bit of his airflow. Kid had the audacity to chuckle.

"My, you seem to care for that girl a great deal, detective," Kid said, his voice dropping into a more masculine register. "How did you know I wasn't your precious lady friend?"

"There's more than one reason, but for starters, Ran would never use Lupin as her codeword."

"I suppose she wouldn't," he laughed. "Perhaps she would prefer Janice?"

Shinichi felt his temperature rise, scowling at the man wearing his best friend's face, "I'd never _tell_ you who she'd choose, but for what it's worth, Janice isn't it."

"Oh? She doesn't want to get married to her precious Heisei Holmes? I'm surprised," Kid hummed to himself. "That's good to know. After all, a hot detective is still on the market!"

Kid leaned into Shinichi's space, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Kid giggled while he sputtered in his embarrassment and used his distraction to slip away from his hold. (What kind of game was he playing?)

"Be seeing you, detective," Kid blew him a kiss. "I had a great time tonight. Let's play again soon!"

The expected burst of smoke removed all trace of the infuriating thief. And now Shinichi didn't know what he looked like. He groaned and dragged his hand through his hair. He should have thought this through, but he'd been so worried about Ran…

She was going to tease him about this for _days_.

That god damned thief. He groaned again, before setting out to find Ran. She was definitely still aboard the ship… He'd also need to make sure to tell the inspector to keep an eye out…

Ally or not, next time he was going to win. He shoved his hands grumpily in his pockets, surprised to find something new—the Black Star. Damned showoff was going to get his next time. (Although, this could probably be considered payback for last time if he'd figured it out…)

* * *

Ran laughed long and hard, "You're _kidding_, he _kissed_ you?"

"On the cheek," Shinichi agreed, looking away.

"Now I'm really mad he knocked me out! Your face must have been hilarious," she said between her hysterics. Shinichi sighed.

"Another assassin was on his tale," Shinichi said after a moment.

Ran sobered quickly, "He seems to have quite the target on his back."

"Yeah, and he knows we know about his friends." At her confused look, he clarified, "I didn't notice the switch right away, so I gave it away on accident."

"Oh, well, I'm sure it'll be fine," she comforted him, smiling. "Maybe he'll come around and join us!"

"Maybe," Shinichi agreed, glancing away thoughtfully. "He's good, I'll grant him that much. If he'd said Irene Adler, I don't know if I would have noticed." Shinichi laughed at the memory of their last confrontation. "He knows a lot more about Sherlock Holmes than he probably wants to. He asked if you would have said Jolene."

"Jolene?" Ran asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shinichi nodded, "Exactly. She's Sherlock's wife."

"What? I thought he was gay!"

"What? No—well, maybe, but that's not the point. The point is, he knows a comparatively obscure character from Sherlock Holmes. Chances are he's friends with someone that's a bigger fan than me."

There was only one person that fit that description. He'd have to find an excuse to get lunch with Hakuba Saguru sometime soon…


	9. A Small Break and a Big Decision

Kaito hid his face as one Kudou Shinichi left the café before he could enter it. What the hell was Kudou doing in Ekoda? And why was he in Kaito's favorite café? As soon as Kudou was safely down the street, Kaito entered the store, glancing around for the reason he came.

Hakuba was ensconced in a corner booth, mulling something over and staring into the middle distance, tea no doubt going cold.

Kaito ordered his own cup of tea and a muffin before sitting down across from him. Hakuba jumped when he noticed.

"Kuroba, what are you," he asked, cutting himself off. "No, this is good. I was probably going to call you in two minutes anyway."

"About Kudou?" Kaito asked, taking a bite of his muffin.

"You passed him on your way in?"

"Yep," Kaito agreed, popping the 'p.' Hakuba grimaced. "Care to share?"

Hakuba sighed, leaning back in his seat and steepling his fingers thoughtfully.

"He knows about _them_," Hakuba began simply. "Based on your lack of surprise, you've already guessed as much."

"I heard as much."

"If he wanted to know your identity, he'd know it by now," Hakuba said. "I think he wants you to trust him with that information yourself. You won't have to worry about him looking for you outside of heists."

"He wasn't bothered by you apparently knowing me personally?"

"If he was, he'd be a hypocrite. He's friends with the Night Baron."

Kaito straightened, leaning forward, "Is he, now."

"He is. Apparently they've been working together to take down the same group we've been tracking." Hakuba seemed unconcerned, but his eyes were sharp, tracking Kaito's every facial tick. "I think he wants to join forces."

"I don't trust him," Kaito protested immediately. "Kudou's interesting, don't get me wrong. And he and the Night Baron have both helped me out of a bind or two, but I still… I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not looking for more detectives to potentially betray me."

After a lengthy silence, Hakuba's eyes lifted from his mug, locking with Kaito's. "I haven't betrayed you."

"Yet." Kaito looked away, unwilling to see his expression. "Don't get me wrong, I trust _you_, but that doesn't mean you couldn't change your mind about me any day. You're a calculated risk, and one I don't particularly want to repeat."

"Do you regret it? Telling me?" Hakuba asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

"Sometimes I think I _should_, but no. You're a pretentious asshole, but well, you're not _all_ bad," Kaito teased. Hakuba allowed a small smile, rolling his eyes.

"I suppose the same goes for you, Kuroba. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking, teaming up with a thief," he sighed. "But, well, despite sense and reason, you _are_ my best friend."

Kaito blinked a few times, unsure he'd heard correctly. Of course they were best friends, _obviously_, but they never _talked_ about it!

"What did Kudou _say_?" he asked aloud, more to himself. Hakuba rolled his eyes, but his cheeks looked a little pink.

"He made a few implications about your character while he was trying to get information out of me," Hakuba sniffed, looking a little more snobbish than usual.

"Oh my God, Hakuba," Kaito gasped dramatically. "Did you defend my_ honor_? Even against your _boyfriend_?"

"Oh, shut up, you jerk, of course I defended you," Hakuba crossed his arms and looked away. "He knows that we're friends now, Kid and I, I mean, but that's to be expected. He seemed relieved, actually. I suspect he worries about the reception his own thief friend will receive."

"If you want to ask him out, you have my _full_ support, Hakuba. After all, I _care_ about you, and I want you to be happy. Even if it's with someone like Kudou." Kaito smiled, keeping his expression benign and friendly.

"Maybe I shouldn't have defended you," Hakuba mused. "I should have let him believe all the things he said about you."

"What things?" Kaito asked, frowning.

"Is that the time? I was planning on spending the afternoon with Aoko, did you want to come?" Hakuba asked, looking at his pocket watch like the stuck-up snob he was.

"C'mon, Hakuba, I get it, I shouldn't have teased you. What did he say about me?"

"Hmm, maybe _you're_ the one interested in Kudou? Why else would you care so much about his opinion?" Hakuba asked thoughtfully, smirking.

"What? Me? Interested in Kudou?" Kaito made a disbelieving noise. "Yeah, right. Good joke."

Hakuba hummed in consideration, but let it drop. Kaito felt unaccountably nervous, but had a feeling that no amount of pressing would make Hakuba tell him what he wanted to know. He sighed in defeat.

"What were you and Aoko planning to do?"

"We're going to see a movie before getting dinner. That new detective thriller just came out, and she wanted to see it." Hakuba smiled, standing and straightening his clothes.

"What, Akako didn't want to go with her?" Kaito asked, standing as well. "I would think she'd want to go to dinner and a movie with her, you know?"

"I believe Aoko's exact words were, 'Akako said she'd rather watch paint dry than that movie, but she hopes I have fun with Hakuba and Kuroba.' Though, how she knew you'd also be coming along is beyond me." Hakuba shrugged, leading the way out of the café.

Kaito suddenly remembered the missed call from Aoko the other night and winced. He'd really been remiss in his best friend duties, hadn't he? Well, he could start making things up to her today. It was the least he could do.

* * *

"Kaito? What are you doing here?" Aoko asked, pleasantly surprised. Kaito grinned.

"I ran into _this _nerd at the café, and he invited me," Kaito said, throwing his arm around Hakuba's shoulders. Hakuba shrugged him off, shooting him an annoyed look.

"I figured he hadn't responded to your message yet, so I invited him myself."

Kaito winced, "Sorry about that, Aoko, I totally forgot to call you back. Forgive me?"

"I don't know…" she said slowly, a mischievous smile stretching across her face. "I _might_ forgive you, but only if you buy me popcorn _and_ ice cream after dinner."

"Deal," he agreed, laughing. "Now, are we gonna see this movie or what?"

Grinning, Aoko grabbed both his and Hakuba's hands and pulled them along behind her, sunlight sparking off the ruby bracelet on her right wrist. Kaito smiled fondly, glad to see Hakuba wearing the same expression. It was too bad Akako couldn't come, but it was nice having almost all of Aoko's attention like he used to.

Hopefully, the movie wouldn't be as bad as Akako seemed to think.

* * *

The movie was _horrible_. When they left the theater, Kaito finally allowed himself to burst into hysterical laughter. Hakuba was stifling his own smile, and Aoko was sighing. A _child_! He became a _child_ and _solved improbable crimes_. Kaito thought he might die of laughing before they made it to dinner.

"I see it was as I expected," a sultry voice said, sounding smug.

"Akako!" Aoko rushed forward and took her hands. "Did you come to meet us?"

"Of course," Akako said, a rare smile gracing her face. "I did not want to see the movie, but I would like to eat dinner with the people I care about."

Hakuba and Aoko both blushed in unison. Kaito snickered to himself.

"Aw, you _do_ have a heart, Akako," Kaito teased. "I knew it was in there somewhere."

"_Kaito_," Aoko scolded at the same time Hakuba sternly said, "_Kuroba_." Kaito laughed again at their matching expressions. Akako merely smiled.

"There's no need for that," Akako said, tipping her head, eyes glinting. "He knows full well that I have a heart. I believe it's the soul he still doubts."

"Kaito, you're not still on about that are you?" Aoko turned the full force of sisterly disappointment on him. He was too amused to look properly contrite, though.

"What can I say? I haven't seen any proof yet." Kaito shrugged, winking at Akako. She laughed, one of her princess laughs. "Come on, I'm getting old here. Are we getting dinner, or what?"

* * *

When Hakuba split off with Akako to walk her home, Kaito shot a solemn glance at Aoko, still eating her ice cream with a small, pleased smile.

"I wanted to apologize," Kaito said. "It was an accident, but I feel like I've been neglecting you, so I wanted to say: I'm sorry."

"I thought that's what the ice cream was for?" Aoko shrugged. "I forgave you about halfway through the movie. Anyone who can sit through the lead detective shrinking to the body of a child is a true friend. So don't worry so much, okay?"

Aoko reached down and twined their fingers together with her free hand, beaming at him widely.

"Besides, an idiot like you wouldn't last without me."

Kaito scoffed, "_Please_. I don't think _you_ would last without _me_."

"Is that right, Kuroba?" Aoko bumped his shoulder.

"Obviously, _Nakamori_." Kaito squeezed her hand while he returned the bump. After another step, she reached out with her other hand and smeared some of her ice cream on his nose. Gasping dramatically and making a valiant effort to lick it off the tip of his nose, Kaito shook his head gravely.

"This means war." Kaito scooped her up, her shriek ringing across the neighborhood as he settled her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, continuing their walk home.

"Let me _down_, you jerk," Aoko laughed, smacking lightly at his back, occasionally squirming with little kicks of her feet.

"Absolutely not," Kaito said. "All's fair, you know. Besides, I've got a good hold, so you won't have to worry about me dropping you." Grinning at the anticipated reaction, he punctuated his statement with a light pat to her butt.

She shrieked again, renewing her squirming.

"Pervert," she laughed, smacking at him again. "Don't make me dump my ice cream down your shirt. I'll do it—I don't want to, but I'll do it."

"Old habits." Kaito couldn't help the laugh. God, he'd missed her. Never again. He was never going more than a handful of days without seeing Aoko ever again. It was decided.

* * *

When he got home, Hakuba called him. Concerned, Kaito answered straight away.

"I apologize for calling so soon after seeing you, but I found a note in my pocket that I think is meant for you."

"What? When did it get there?"

"After the café, but before the movie ended. I found it around the time there was that bomb on the Ferris wheel."

"What does it say?"

"'_To your thieving friend: I hope to make your acquaintance sometime soon. I believe we have enemies in common. We could do well to work together. I won't bother you about it; the ball, as it were, is in your court. Potentially your ally, the Night Baron._' He's certainly rather pretentious, isn't he?"

Kaito snorted, "Coming from you, that's rich. But you're not wrong. He's always like that. It's written in calligraphy, too, isn't it?"

"Receive a lot of these, do you?"

"Only a few, but he's nothing if not consistent."

Hakuba fell silent, thinking something over. "I think he's in earnest, Kuroba. I'll no doubt run into Kudou again, so I'll see if he's trustworthy or not. For what it's worth, I think he is."

Kaito sighed, pacing his room. "I'll think about it, alright? For now, though, I think we should continue as we are. Change isn't always for the better."

"It's your call."

They said their good-byes, and Kaito hung up, falling back on his bed with a long sigh. He'd probably need to talk to his parents. They'd know what to do. It was too bad they were traveling again…

Maybe he could call them in a few days.

* * *

"Kudou Shinichi has been asking to help us?" Toichi asked. He didn't sound like he quite believed it. Kaito knew the feeling.

"That's what he said. He and his thief friend."

He could hear his mother laughing off screen and assumed she must enjoy the irony. His father hummed to himself, face betraying none of what he might be thinking.

"I'm going to trust your judgment on this," he said at last. Kaito froze.

"What?"

"I think this should be your decision to make."

"Oh, yes, definitely," his mother agreed, still off screen. Kaito crossed his arms.

"You really don't think you should be involved in this?"

"We trust you, Kaito. Any decision you make, we will accept." Aha.

"So you know what you would choose already."

"Of course." His father's smile was mysterious and mischievous. "I'm sure you already realize this, but I won't be telling you what I would do."

"Your mother won't either!"

Kaito groaned. "You guys are the _worst_."

"Love you, honey!"

"You'll do just fine, Kaito. Now, we have dinner plans with some old friends. Let us know what you decide."

"Love you, too. Bye."

His laptop clicked shut with a worrying finality. He was alone. He had to make this decision without help or guidance… He closed his eyes.

His parents trusted him. Hakuba trusted Kudou, but would stay his ground until Kaito let him know…

He was dialing before he quite realized what he was doing.

"Kuroba, I was wondering when you'd call."

"It's creepy when you do that, you know?"

Akako's laugh sounded as smug as ever. "You're calling to ask my advice, are you not? I believe it's customary to be polite to the one from whom you need something."

Kaito sighed. "Please, O Powerful Witch, should I accept the sparrow's offer or no?"

"The noble sparrow will wait until you are ready, but the crows have no such patience," she said, voice dropping into the more mystical lilt she tended to take on when she prophesied. "You have until the moon is next full to make your decision. The stars tell me not which decision will lead to victory, but the noble sparrow has as many powerful allies as he has powerful enemies. Consider your decision well. Danger lurks no matter what you decide."

Kaito groaned, "Not you, too, Akako! Is a 'yes' or 'no' really impossible here?"

"It is. You have about a week to decide by my count. Use your time wisely."

* * *

Kaito wasn't sure if it counted as _wise_, but here he was, in Kudou Shinichi's library in Kudou Shinichi's great empty house. Kaito tugged self-consciously at his suit jacket and readjusted his tie for the third time.

When the door opened behind him, he turned to face the man of the house.

"I was wondering when you were going to drop in," Kudou said, outwardly unaffected. Damn, Kaito wanted him off guard. "Usually you leave a note, don't you?"

"Not if all I'm doing is breaking and entering. Hakuba relayed your message to me."

"Have you made a decision then?" Kudou sat down, gesturing to a chair across from him. Kaito remained standing, too uncomfortable to sit.

"Not yet. I don't exactly trust unknown detectives. That's why I'm here."

"To know me?"

Kaito shrugged. It was close enough.

"I don't know what to tell you. I've been told I have a strong sense of justice and no sense of danger. I like playing soccer. I mentor some grade school kids that want to be detectives when they grow up…"

"Why do you want to work together?" Kaito asked, filing the answers away to think about later.

"We work well together even when we don't plan for it. I think we'd stand a better chance against these people if we combined forces. The enemy of my enemy, and all."

"That I understand just fine. What I don't understand is why a detective would work with a thief."

"You work with Hakuba."

"Hakuba's a rare case," Kaito crossed his arms. "You're not him."

"I'm not. I have my own reasons that I'm not comfortable sharing just yet, but I will tell you I know both the Night Baron and the Starlet extremely well. I trust them both with my life. I'd like to trust you as well."

Kaito nodded, considering. "I'll be in touch before the full moon." Kaito bowed once. "Until then."

Maybe… Maybe he could take a chance on Kudou. He'd talk to Hakuba again, but he was pretty sure he knew what he was going to do now.

Three days to spare.


	10. A Prolonged Foreboding

AN: Thank you all so much for your patience! This took me a long time to figure out, but I think I finally got it right. I hope you all enjoy it!

* * *

True to his word, three days later, Kaitou Kid paid Shinichi another visit. Again, he stifled his instinctive flinch—he'd upped the security, but nothing seemed to work. Between the two of them, Kid was clearly the better thief, not that Shinichi was going to tell him that.

Kid seemed relaxed, waiting by the window in his library. Shinichi watched him for a moment, the moonlight catching the glass of his monocle, his suit nearly glowing…

He closed his eyes, trying to focus on playing it cool. He wasn't surprised or nervous. Ethereal masked strangers broke into his house all the time.

"You know, I have a front door. You could come in a disguise if you wanted to. Unless you'd rather be dramatic?" Shinichi smiled. If he had the element of surprise, he'd probably do the same thing, actually. The thought settled him.

Kid glanced over his shoulder at him. "But this is so much more interesting, don't you think?"

"I take it you've made a decision?" Shinichi sat down, crossing a leg and leaning back.

Kid took several long, elegant strides, taking the seat across from him. Shinichi masked his surprise.

"I've decided to trust you and your Night Baron, Kudou. I won't give you my identity, and I don't expect to receive the Baron's either. However, if we're going to be working together, we'll need to keep each other updated on our movements."

Kid produced two burner phones from thin air.

"Ever the magician, I see." Shinichi smiled, accepting one of the phones. "If you don't mind, I'd actually like to introduce you to one of the members of my team. If for some reason I can't have the phone on me, I'll be leaving it in her care, with your permission."

"When should we meet?" Kid frowned, clearly making and discarding plans.

"Now, if you'd like. She lives next door."

"You're willing to tell me?" Kid looked… startled, worried even, but only for a moment.

"I am. She gave me permission first. Shall we?" Shinichi stood, slipping the phone in his pocket. "Speed dial one?"

"Yes. And let me change into a disguise." In a flash of light, he reappeared in street clothes. His face was young and open, eyes green, hair sandy brown. Likely, but not necessarily, a disguise. Time would tell.

Shinichi led the way.

Haibara answered the door when they rang the bell. She glanced between them, eyes narrowed, assessing.

"I'll allow your new thief in, but he keeps his hands where I can see them. You may have Kudou's trust, but you don't have mine." She turned her head and returned inside, leaving the door open.

"Well, you heard the lady." Shinichi shrugged.

By the time they made it to the living room, Haibara was (angrily) preparing three cups of tea. He could tell that she was putting too much sugar in his, but remained silent. If this was her revenge, he would bear it. He shouldn't have sprung this on her like he did, he knew that now.

He'd apologize again later.

"Alias," Haibara demanded once Kid had his tea. Kid froze.

"Sorry?"

"I'm not calling you Kid. Give me a name to use."

"Oh, uh, Masayoshi is fine."

"The alias from the gala," Shinichi noted to himself. Kid glanced at him.

"You remember that?"

"Of course. I'm a detective. You're wearing your hair differently, though. It was more styled before." Shinichi considered him. "Same color for hair and eyes."

"I was at a black tie event last time. No one keeps their hair styled all the time."

"Speak for yourself." Haibara rolled her eyes. "Now, Masayoshi, why should I help you?"

"We all want them in prison, so we might as well work together. The Night Baron and I are both backed by a known detective, so we're virtually in the same position, aren't we?"

"I suppose _technically_, but I never said I trusted Hakuba, either. I trust Kudou and about two or three other people. You're not one of them."

"I understand your concern. When he told me you lived next door, I thought he was crazy for trusting me with that so soon." Kid hummed to himself. "I don't even know your name. How much danger could I put you in when I only know that a young woman lives next door to Kudou Shinichi?"

Haibara and Kid stared at each other for a long time, seeming to communicate something without words. Shinichi said nothing, unwilling to put himself in the middle of whatever was happening. He took a sip of his horrible tea. Finally, Haibara nodded once.

"You can call me Haibara. If you can get me Kudou's wallet without him noticing, I'll acknowledge your skill, even if I don't trust you yet."

"What? Haibara!"

But Kid was already handing her his wallet as if pulling it from his own pocket. He really was incredibly talented. His hands must be insanely dexterous.

"Well, Kudou? Did you notice?" Haibara's eyes glinted.

"I didn't feel a thing, now are you satisfied?"

"No," Haibara said, tone bland, "but he is skilled, and I'm willing to periodically act as your go between if I must. If you can manage to earn my trust, I might even agree to lend you my skills."

"Am I allowed to know what those are?" Kid asked.

"No. I don't trust you yet."

Kid nodded once. "Understood. I'll see what I can do to earn your trust. In the meantime, thank you in advance. I'm sure your assistance is invaluable, even if I don't know what it is you do."

"How do you figure?"

"Because Kudou trusts you and values your judgment. Otherwise, there's no way he would let me meet you."

Haibara turned away, frowning, but Shinichi could see the faintest blush on her cheeks. Shinichi smiled, even as she stood and strode deeper into the house. Kid opened his mouth to ask something, but Haibara interrupted.

"Let yourselves out. I have work to do. I'm sure we'll speak soon, Masayoshi. And Kudou, you _owe _me. I expect you to be here bright and early tomorrow. Nine thirty, don't be late."

Shinichi winced. "Yes, ma'am," he called. Standing, he gestured to the door. Kid shot him a look, clearly curious. Shinichi sighed as he shut the door behind them. "She's going to make me buy her things, most likely. She's pretty mad, even compared to her normal levels of crankiness."

"Because you made her meet me in person?"

"No, because I asked her to do something risky that she didn't want anyone else to do either. She wasn't entirely on board with asking you for help, but she didn't want any of the allies she likes getting involved with you either." Shinichi was sure she'd been thinking about Ran throughout the meeting. As long as Ran was safe, they were both happy. "It's not so much you personally as introducing someone new in general, I think."

"It's just business," Kid said with a soft chuckle. "Don't worry. I understand completely; it's how I feel about you and your Night Baron. Talented or not, you both post a threat to the people I love."

"Just business," Shinichi said, sighing. He tried not to take the hit to his own trustworthiness personally. He wasn't sure he succeeded. "I wish we were in a business more suited to trusting people. I miss that. Anyway, I'm sure I'll see you around. If it's not an emergency, would it be better to text Hakuba?"

"For now, yes. We'll figure out how to best use the phones within the next few weeks, I expect." Kid glanced away, staring into space. He looked more than a little anxious. "I think I should tell you, I have a bad feeling about the next few days. I think something's going to happen, but I don't know what."

"I'll keep an eye out, then," Shinichi said easily, choosing to ignore the surprise on Kid's face. Shinichi hadn't doubted a bad feeling since he was a child. If Kid was worried, that was enough for him. "You'll be careful, too?"

"When am I ever not careful, detective?" Kid laughed at Shinichi's raised eyebrow. "Never mind, don't answer that." He shook his head. "Take care, detective. And good night."

"Good night, Kid."

Waving, Shinichi watched him walk down the street, into the moonlight. He looked so normal, like he was a real person, not an elusive thief. Shinichi wondered what his civilian persona was like, if he'd be fun to talk to. He wondered if they'd even get along without circumstances to force them together.

Shaking off the strange turn to his thoughts, he headed back into his house. Haibara expected him early the next morning, and he needed to be on his toes. Especially if Kid was to be believed, and well, someone needed to be willing to trust first. Why not him?

* * *

Haibara answered the door on Saturday and the self-proclaimed Detective Boys spilled out around her. Shinichi closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"Haibara…"

"I told them I was going to be hanging out with you today, and they all _insisted_ on coming." Haibara smiled, devilish. "You've been neglecting them, _Shinichi-niichan._"

"You're not mad, are you?" Ayumi asked, voice uncharacteristically soft.

Shinichi sighed, but allowed a small smile. "No, Ayumi, I'm not mad. Of course the three of you can tag along. I'll even treat the three of you to a _single_ dessert item, no more expensive than 10 dollars."

The kids lit up. Shinichi felt a little bad about the price cap, but he'd seen them with the professor. He rather liked having _some_ spending money left for himself at the end of the week. (Although, after Haibara's demands, there wouldn't be much left.)

As they walked to the mall, the kids chattered ahead of them about what they were going to order. Shinichi and Haibara walked behind them, keeping an eye on their movements and the people around them. Haibara's smile was soft and fond.

"You've changed, I think," Shinichi observed. She glanced at him, arching an eyebrow. "You never would have made an outing like this even a few months ago. I'm glad."

She huffed, looking away. "Of course I've changed. Given the circumstances, how could I not? I am nothing if not adaptable."

"Well, that's certainly the truth." Shinichi grinned, teasing. "Anyway, I'm just glad you feel safe with us. You've easily become one of Ran's favorite people, you know."

Haibara's face went red from ear to ear. Shinichi smiled and tucked the response away, deciding not to bring it up. He was many things, but he tried not to be purposefully cruel. Of course, if the opportunity to tease her when she wasn't already mad arose… Well, he still had a recording of Hattori calling Kazuha _his_. Of course, he only used it sparingly.

Like when Hattori tried to meddle in his love life.

"Shinichi-niichan, are you dating anyone?" Ayumi asked. Shinichi shot her a wary look. _Uncanny_.

"I've been a little too busy with my work to date anyone, so no. Why do you ask, Ayumi?" Shinichi tried to ignore the smirk on Haibara's face. She likely knew what this was about then. Great.

"We thought that you and Ai-neechan should date," Ayumi said with a bright smile.

Mitsuhiko frowned. "I still think he and Ran-neechan makes more sense…"

Right, he still had a crush on Haibara, didn't he? Shinichi rubbed his chin as if he were considering their points. "Well, I appreciate the two of you thinking about me, but neither Ran nor Haibara wants to date me."

"What? How do you know that?" Genta exclaimed.

"Ran told him, and I've never expressed that kind of an interest in him," Haibara said. "There's no need for the three of you to worry about our love lives. In a few years, you can worry about your own."

The boys both blushed, immediately looking away, but Ayumi kept smiling. "Will you give me advice when I'm older, Ai-neechan?"

Haibara's expression melted back into warm fondness. "Of course." Before she could say anything else, they arrived at the mall. "It seems we're here." As they made to enter, Shinichi felt a chill run up his spine.

They were being watched.

He and Haibara both surreptitiously glanced around, but based on her tension, neither of them could see who it was. It didn't feel malevolent, but it wasn't exactly benign…

Sharing a worried look, they both stepped through the automatic doors. Shinichi resigned himself to remaining on edge for the rest of the afternoon. It seemed like Kid was right to be concerned. Hopefully, they could skate by without incident.

* * *

When they finally spotted their shadow, Shinichi sent Haibara and the kids to go buy their dessert. Haibara gave him a curt nod, eyes narrowed. By splitting up, they'd be able to figure out who he was after. That didn't mean they had to like it.

The man remained in place, making no moves to follow Haibara and the kids. Was he here because of Kudou Shinichi the detective or Kudou Shinichi the thief? Why was this man following him? Shinichi moved slowly to another section of the store, texting Haibara to look like he wasn't paying attention.

The man moved in his direction with the performed distraction of a tail. Shinichi stifled a sigh.

Before Shinichi could even begin to formulate a plan, a high voice called out from across the section, "Kudou! It's been too long!"

Shinichi turned, frowning, and met the eyes of a young woman with a brown bob. She hurried over to him. "It's good to see you," Shinichi said, forcing a smile. The woman showed him her palm as she clasped his arm; she'd written the number 1412. Shinichi relaxed.

"You should come to lunch with me, my treat!" Shinichi made a token protest, but she waved him off. "No, no, as your upperclassman, I insist. Were you here with anyone?"

"Yeah, a friend of mine and some kids we babysit should be in the food court," Shinichi said, falling into step with Kid. "I can let them know I'll be getting lunch with you, though. I'm sure they won't mind that much."

* * *

They minded. Kid was kind enough to invite the children along as well, while signaling to Haibara that he was Kid. They were still being followed, but it would be harder to kill six people than one. As long as they stuck together…

* * *

They lost their tail just before walking the kids home, making sure they were all safely inside before changing direction to Shinichi's house. Once they were sure they were still out of the crosshairs, Kid spoke first.

"Sorry for crashing your afternoon. I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong." Kid shook his head. "That was probably Snake, by the way. From what I can tell, he's something of an enforcer."

Haibara nodded, confirming his intel.

"You seem familiar with him."

"He's the one who's been sending people after me. If I hadn't been so clear about how much I wanted to tear their organization down, I think he would've tried to recruit me." Kid frowned. "He's willing to hurt children, so I'm glad we could make sure they made it home safe. I'll be keeping an eye on them for the next few weeks, if neither of you mind."

"The more eyes the better," Shinichi said.

"You could've let us die, and you seemed to care about them. If you hurt them, I'll make sure you suffer." Haibara didn't turn her head, and instead kept walking.

"If I hurt them, I'll deserve it."

"I've been curious," Shinichi said, changing the subject, "how did you know there was something wrong?"

Kid hesitated. "I'm not sure I want to say. It's a little unbelievable, and you _are_ a detective."

"I'm a detective faced with the evidence that your source was accurate today, at least. I think that lends you more than a little credence."

"Maybe next time, detective."

"I'm sure we'll see you around."

As Shinichi turned up his front walk, Kid said, "Kudou, get down!"

Shinichi ducked on instinct, so the first bullet missed his head, but the next caught him in the chest. Shinichi blinked down at the bloom of red across his shirt, the contrast worrying against the blue of his shirt. As the pain registered, he thought dimly, 'So this is what being shot feels like.'

While he was staring, Kid scooped him up and rushed him into the house, Haibara close on his heels. Shinichi swayed a little when Kid set him on his feet, but managed to stay upright. Kid pressed a cloth to his shoulder and placed Shinichi's hand over it.

"Hold this, I need to close all the blinds in the house. Haibara, would you call the police and an ambulance?"

"Is that safe?"

"Kudou is a detective. Not calling the cops would be out of character and suspicious, and he needs to get that looked at."

Shinichi's vision blurred and black crept in around the edges. He suspected this was what people meant by tunnel vision. He could hear Haibara and Kid talking, but couldn't quite focus on what was happening.

"Kudou? Kudou!"

But Shinichi was already falling unconscious before he hit the ground.


	11. Tragedy Averted

A/N: I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience and their kind comments! They all mean a lot to me! If you commented as a guest, rest assured, I saw it and it made me very happy. Thank you all again for sticking with me!

* * *

Haibara sat one seat away from him, not looking at him. She took a sip from the Styrofoam cup in her hands, grimaced, and finally sighed.

"I don't understand why you couldn't come up with some kind of a disguise that would explain your presence," she said, voice low. "I don't want to answer any questions from the police. And besides, how am I supposed to explain moving Kudou into his house?"

Kaito frowned at his shoes. "He's light, actually. I don't think he'd been eating well. But he was still conscious before we moved him inside. He only needed a little support from me."

Haibara sighed again. "Fine. But listen, this is going to complicate things in ways I can't explain to you. Be on your toes."

Kaito nodded once. Of course, with Kudou wounded, they'd be running a risky operation. He seemed to be leading his end of things, so if he was out of commission… Kaito looked at his hands. He'd washed off the blood, but he could still feel it, sticky and warm on his fingers. He never wanted to feel someone's blood on his hands again.

Red stains on a white suit flashed through his mind. He tried to ignore it, but he was too badly shaken. The memory of his father's close call was sitting to heavily on his shoulders. Kudou was alive, but who knew for how long? He had a chance, but if the shot was from a sniper rifle, he was almost certainly going to…

Kaito shook the thought off. He was in the doctors' hands now. They'd do all they could. He'd done all he could. If he hadn't been there, that first shot…

"You saved his life," Haibara confirmed, as if reading the turn of his thoughts. He was worse off than he thought for her to be able to comment on it. "That first shot would have gone between his eyes."

Kaito flinched. He didn't want to think about it.

"Ai!" a woman called, distracting Kaito from thoughts of blood and brain matter. She was rushing across the waiting room toward them. "Oh, Ai, is he alright? Have you seen him?"

Mouri Ran, Kudou Shinichi's best friend and a skilled martial artist, daughter of a lawyer and a detective. Kaito kept his focus on her and away from his own thoughts.

"He's still in surgery, but the doctor seemed to think he'd pull through." Haibara spoke with a clinical detachment, like she wasn't close with the victim. Mouri didn't seem perturbed by the chilled tone.

"Oh, thank God, I've been so worried since you called," Mouri said, taking one of Haibara's hands between both of hers. "I'm so glad you were there. Who knows what might have happened if—if he'd been alone." Mouri began to cry.

Haibara met his eyes over her head, seeming to say, 'You see? You saved him.' Kaito just hoped it wasn't his fault in the first place. Maybe Akako would know. In the meantime, he tried not to look like he was still listening to them.

"When he wakes up," Mouri said as she wiped her eyes, "I'm going to cry on him a little, and then I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

That, Kaito would like to see.

"I warned him this was dangerous, but he wouldn't listen. I told him that he needed to be more careful, but _no_. Well, I'm not so sure I can agree with his actions anymore."

"Are you going to call it off?" Haibara asked, her voice soft.

Mouri seemed to deflate, returning her free hand to rest on Haibara's. "I don't know. I can't let him keep doing this, can I? Not when it's this bad. He could have died today, Ai."

"I know. But any one of us could die any day. I don't think asking him to stop when he feels like he's made progress will work," Haibara reminded her. Kaito felt like he should leave, but he wasn't sure how to extricate himself. He was in a waiting room, so unless someone came to get him…

Mouri groaned, dropping her forehead to Haibara's shoulder. "I just want him safe."

"So do I. But none of us will be safe until this is over. Not after all the work we've done."

They both fell silent, still holding hands. Kaito suddenly remembered asking Kudou is he was dating Mouri, remembered his flippant 'no,' and wondered again. Was there really nothing between them? They both cared so deeply for each other, but then Haibara seemed to care deeply for Kudou as well. So then, was he actually with Haibara?

Or was Mouri one of the allies Haibara was apparently worried about? Did that mean that Mouri knew about the Night Baron and their operations? Did she know that Kudou knew the Night Baron? Did she know Kudou was working with Kaitou Kid now?

Who was he even supposed to _ask_?

"Excuse me, Miss Mouri," a doctor said, interrupting whatever Mouri and Haibara had been whispering about, "it says here you're Kudou Shinichi's next of kin if his parents are out of the country."

Mouri stood. "Yes, that's right. How is he?"

"If you'll follow me?"

Haibara slowed her movements as Mouri followed the doctor. She held out a hand, silent and sure, not looking at him. Embarrassed, he pressed a listening device into her palm. She slipped it into the breast pocket of her shirt before following after Mouri. Kaito turned it on.

"...extracted the bullet, but he'll need to rest for several weeks, at least. The bullet missed any major organs, luckily, but it was a close call. If the ambulance hadn't been called so quickly, I don't think he would have made it. It's a good thing you called so quickly."

"Thank you," Haibara said. "Kudou actually reminded me. I was… shocked, to say the least, and it was hard to remember what I was supposed to do after getting him inside."

"That sounds just like Shinichi," Mouri said. Something about her tone was off, though. Kaito wished he could see her face to confirm.

After that, the doctor detailed the recovery plan—one month in the hospital, followed by physical therapy—and finally allowed Mouri and Haibara into his hospital room.

"He looks pale, but otherwise fine," Haibara mused to herself, no doubt for his benefit. The tightness in his chest eased somewhat.

"Yes, he's come out remarkably unscathed. Luckily the shot was low caliber, or he could have been in serious danger."

Kaito frowned. Low caliber? That didn't sound right. Hadn't the shot been fired from above? Or had it been… Kaito shuddered with a sudden chill. Two people, one on the property itself? No, Kudou would have better security than that, wouldn't he?

Kaito clenched his hands on his knees. This was worse than he thought. Haibara was still going to be living in close proximity to someplace he knew to be insecure…

He tapped out a text as quickly as he could.

'sry, stole ur number, but it was an emergency. Kudou residence not safe so don't go back home. Can u stay with Mouri?'

After a nerve-wracking minute, he received a curt reply. 'When the police leave, I expect you to check for signs of entry and signs of surveillance. I'll stay with Ran. Keep me posted.'

'yes ma'am'

Kaito ran his hands over his face, suddenly feeling exhausted. He was going to take the train back, but he already felt paranoid and he hadn't even gotten up yet. He dialed without looking at the screen.

"Hello, Hakuba speaking."

"It's me," Kaito said, tipping his head forward. "I need you to pick me up."

"What, Kuroba? Are you alright?" Hakuba sounded worried.

"I'm fine, but I'm at the trauma center nearest to Kudou's house. It's a long story. How soon can you get here?"

"I'm leaving now. Give me… I'm not sure, ten minutes."

"Tell Baba to drive carefully."

"Fifteen then. Take care of yourself until I get there."

"Will do."

Kaito's phone buzzed in his hands. When he opened the message, he was startled by Kudou's face, relaxed in sleep, but his expression seemed peaceful behind the oxygen mask. The last of his residual worry eased and settled.

When his hands began to shake, he found himself scooping up a spare piece of paper from a table beside him. By the time Hakuba found him, he was looking down at ten folded cranes.

"Do you think you need to keep all of the cranes to get the wish, or just make the thousand?" Kaito wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure. Were you planning on making a wish?"

"I don't know. Let's get out of here. I want to go home."

* * *

When they made it to Kaito's house, they found Akako sitting in the kitchen with three mugs of tea in front of her. Kaito closed his eyes for a long moment before deciding it wasn't worth getting worked up over.

"Which one is mine?" he asked instead.

"Blue mug. Green is Hakuba's."

Kaito sat down and simply held the mug between his hands for a moment, taking the time to settle. Hakuba was asking how Akako got in, but Kaito tuned it out. She probably found their spare key. More surprising was her timing, but Kaito ignored his questions about that, too. Akako never gave up her witchy secrets.

They had that in common, at least.

He took a long drink of his tea. It was made exactly as he liked it. "Kudou was shot," Kaito said. "Sniper and an accomplice. The sniper missed, but the accomplice had a small-caliber gun at the ready. Probably a pistol, but I'm not sure."

Akako sighed, apparently relieved. "You made it in time."

Hakuba opened his mouth to ask, but Kaito cut in before he could. "Do you see any danger in his near future? Or is he safe for now?"

"How could she possibly know that?" Hakuba asked, sounding irritated.

"I have not seen or felt any danger, but I'll let you know if that changes. For now, he is safe." Akako frowned at him. "Your fate is also clear for now, in case you were worried."

He hadn't been, but he didn't know if he had an explanation for that, even for himself. He was just too tired. Maybe he'd muster up some concern in the morning.

Hakuba looked about ready to argue, so Kaito set his mug down with enough force for it to make a loud noise. "I've been telling you that she's a witch for years, Hakuba. I don't know why this is surprising to you. I told you I ask her for advice, didn't I?"

"You're always joking about her being a witch, yes," Hakuba said.

"It's not a joke."

Akako sighed. "Hakuba, I have the power of foresight. I warned Kuroba of your arrival, as well as Kudou's. I also warned him of this, though I knew not what form the danger would take."

"If you hadn't warned me," Kaito said, staring at his mug, "Kudou Shinichi would be dead."

"There is a chance something else would have interfered," Akako admitted, "but I felt death was more likely without your intervention. I'm glad he is alive."

"I can't believe in magic," Hakuba said, voice adamant.

Kaito leveled him with a flat stare. "Can't or won't?"

Hakuba narrowed his eyes, but said nothing for a moment. "I'm going to look into the investigation at Kudou's home."

"Text me when the police leave. I have a few things I need to check on. You should be on the lookout for signs of forced entry." Kaito closed his eyes, trying to remember the angle of the shot without remembering the shot itself. "Especially the right half of the yard. Maybe near those hedges? The second shooter was likely on ground level."

"Very well." With that and a brief bow, Hakuba let himself out. Kaito sighed, slumping into his chair.

"I will speak with Hakuba later," Akako said, voice calm and cool. Kaito let the tone soothe him. "He has been on the verge of accepting my power for some time, but I think it still makes him nervous."

"Aoko know yet?"

"Yes. I have told her… much about myself. She is relieved that we met when we did and that I am no longer in possession of most of my powers." Akako's smile turned wistful.

Kaito rested his cheek on his palm. "You really love her, don't you."

Akako's cheeks went as red as her name suggested, but she didn't sputter or otherwise overreact to his statement. Just the incriminating blush. Kaito smiled slowly; it felt hollow, but it was better than nothing.

"I do," she finally said. "I love her more than I could possible say."

"I can tell you without hesitation that she feels the same," Kaito said. Thinking of his best friend's stuttering admissions of her love for Akako was far more pleasant than the alternative, even given his initial displeasure.

Akako's smile returned, soft and fragile. "I know. I'm thankful for that every day." They both took a drink of tea in silence before Akako turned an enigmatic look on him. "If we all make it through alive, I think things will work out for you."

"If?"

Akako shrugged. "Nothing is set in stone."

"Tell me something I don't know," Kaito sighed.

Akako's smile turned wicked. "If Aoko asked me to marry her, I would say yes."

Kaito choked on his own spit, melancholy and anxiety overwritten by surprise. "Shit, Akako, really? Marriage?"

Akako flipped her hair over her shoulder, smirking. "Aoko isn't ready yet, but yes. I'd like to be married to her, I think."

"And you're telling me?"

"Obviously, Kuroba," Akako said, leveling him with an unimpressed look. "You are my closest friend after Aoko. Who else would I tell?"

* * *

The next morning, after making sure Hakuba would be at home until later in the afternoon, Kaito visited Kudou, borrowing Hakuba's face. When Kudou saw him, he blinked slowly, frowning.

After a long, awkward beat, Kudou narrowed his eyes. "Kid," he decided. "Thank you for saving my life." Kaito opened his mouth to protest, but Kudou shook his head. "I know that Hakuba isn't Kaitou Kid, but you are Kid wearing Hakuba's face."

Kaito sat down. "How on earth did you figure me out while you're high on pain meds, detective?"

Kudou grinned slyly. "That's a _secret_." He thought for a moment before nodding to himself. "But you saved my life, so I think it's okay." Kudou waved him closer. Kaito had the strangest feeling like Kudou was about to tell him something truly important while under the influence. As much as he wanted to know… "The truth is…"

"Are you sure you want to tell me, Kudou? You won't be upset with yourself when the drugs wear off?" Kaito winced.

Kudou leveled him with a flat stare. "The drugs aren't _that_ strong. They make talking a little hard, and they make me feel fuzzy, but that doesn't mean I can't keep my own secrets, _Hakuba_." He huffed. "Fine, I won't tell you then."

"Why don't you tell me later? It would make me feel less like I'm taking advantage of you."

"Maybe. Did you need something, by the way? Or were you just worried about me?" Kudou seemed completely at ease with his questions, not embarrassed at all by the second one. Kaito didn't share his composure, and was thankful for the latex covering his true face from view.

"Partly the second, but I wanted to update you on the investigation."

Kudou's expression sobered. "Tell me everything."

Kaito quickly ran through what had happened after Kudou was taken to the hospital. From the size of the bullet he was struck by—"I thought it was strange that I was still alive. Low caliber, makes a lot more sense than surviving a sniper round to the chest."—to the presence of the second gunman. Kudou took it all in stride, making a brief request of Kaito to write down all the pertinent information.

When Kaito raised an eyebrow, Kudou looked away, pouting. "The drugs mess with my memory a little, that's all. I've been having very vivid dreams since I was admitted."

Kaito rolled his eyes, but complied. "Do you need anything, Kudou? I can pick something up and come back if you'd like."

Kudou yawned, looking bone tired and world weary. Kaito was tempted to tuck the blankets around him tighter. "I think Ran is bringing me books from home. I'd appreciate it if you'd update me on the investigation and… our other investigation, if you don't mind. I'm not going to be able to get much information from here."

"Won't Haibara…?"

Kudou looked _sullen_, cheeks puffed out like a petulant child. "She's a mother hen. Now that I'm in the hospital, she won't let me do anything until a doctor clears me. She's very strict. It's horrible. _Nothing strenuous, Kudou_."

Kaito snickered.

"You laugh now, but I'm absolutely serious. The woman is _cruel_."

"She cares about you, Kudou."

"And if you care about me at all, you'll bring me the news she won't."

"Yes, yes, I'll bring you news whenever anything comes up."

Kudou beamed, his eyes approaching fever bright. "Thanks, Kid. I appreciate it." He yawned again, so widely his jaw seemed about to unhinge like a snake. With that, Kaito stood and excused himself with a promise to return soon.

In the meantime, he had a heist to plan.


	12. From Hawaii With Love

A/N: Thank you all so much for your patience! I've mapped it out, and there's probably 7-10 chapters left before the end. I appreciate all of your comments and reviews! To those of you reading this in German, I can't reply to you, but your comments are all so sweet! Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me!

* * *

Shinichi woke up gasping, his dream lingering over him like a heavy cloud, dark and humid. Gunshots and blood staining white—a Judo uniform, a lab coat, a suit—before blood spilled through his hands, from his own chest. And around him, black suits, black crows, a pulsing darkness ready to eat the light alive.

He kept his eyes open, relieved to see the stark white of the hospital's ceiling, the pain from his shoulder grounding him in reality. He turned his eyes to the window. The early morning light creeping through the blinds soothed him with thoughts of morning and safety.

His phone buzzed on his bedside table.

'my heist is 2nite figured u might wanna solve the notice even if u can't go' Attached was a picture of a plain white card, filled out with a short poetic message and a small doodle of Kaitou Kid. Shinichi smiled.

'Thanks. Stay safe tonight. Hakuba will be there?'

'ofc that stick in the mud loves ruining my fun lol'

Shinichi snorted. 'I don't know, you must like him at least a little or you wouldn't still be working with him.'

'u bite ur tongue! disgusting, implying i like that bastard'

'Methinks the lady doth protest too much.' When the door opened, Shinichi's head shot up. When the nurse, Onodera, smiled at him, he relaxed. The man closed the door lightly behind him.

"Good morning, Kudou. You're up early."

"Ah, yeah, I just woke up actually." He winced. "Is one of the medication's side effects vivid dreams?"

The man looked surprised, checking the IV drip beside his bed. "Hmm, not that I know of, but everyone reacts differently… Of course, you could be having vivid dreams due to trauma. You were recently shot, after all," he said, frowning. "Have you noticed anything this morning? Everything feeling okay?"

"As well as can be expected," Shinichi said, wincing as Onodera touched his bandages. His phone buzzed in his hand. "Outside of the weird dreams and nightmares, I don't have any complaints. Well, the food is boring and a little bland, but there's nothing you can really do about that."

Onodera laughed. "That's true. It's good that you can complain, though. It means you're improving."

"Not fast enough."

'THATS EVEN WORSE KUDOU HOW DARE U IMPUGN MY GOOD NAME'

'And here I thought you didn't know how to spell.'

'RUDE! SEE IF I EVER TEXT U EVER AGAIN'

'Uh-huh, talk to you later, Kid.'

"Texting a friend?" Onodera wrote something down in his chart.

"Something like that." Shinichi watched him write for a moment. "Am I really going to have to stay here for an entire month?"

He shrugged. "You could get released a little early if you're healing particularly well, but we won't know for a while yet." He smiled. "You just had major surgery, Kudou. These things take time."

Shinichi sighed. "Yeah. Still sucks, though."

Onodera's laugh was interrupted by the door being thrown open. "Shin-chan," his mother cried, bursting into the room. "Oh, my baby, let me look at you." She cupped his cheeks, turning his face this way and that before running an assessing eye over him from top to toe. She pushed his hair back from his forehead, sitting down.

"Hi, Mom," Shinichi said, leaning into her hand. "I thought you and Dad were in Hawaii."

She frowned at him. "You thought we would stay in Hawaii when we heard you'd been shot? _Shinichi_, you're our _son_," she scolded. "We took the first available flight back. Your father is dealing with some business, but he'll be along shortly."

"I'll let the doctor know you're here, Mrs. Kudou," Onodera said. "Your son is doing very well this morning."

"Thank you for looking after him," she said, smiling.

Onodera smiled, and shrugged off her thanks with a quiet, "Just doing my job, ma'am," before seeing himself out. The minute the door shut, Yukiko turned back to face Shinichi, expression serious.

"Ran told me everything. Kaitou Kid was with you?"

Shinichi nodded, pursing his lips. "It was odd. He didn't tell us why, but he had some kind of bad feeling. If he hadn't," Shinichi trailed off.

"It doesn't bear thinking about," Yukiko said, taking his hand. "I'll have to thank him myself."

"Well, he has a heist tonight," he provided, unthinking.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, does he?"

"Art museum downtown, seven o'clock." Shinichi tapped his phone. "He sent me the heist notice, but it wasn't too complicated to figure out. Only took me a minute or two." He turned his phone over in his hand, frowning. "He's off his game."

"Of course he is, Shinichi, he watched you get shot." Yukiko pursed her lips. "After what happened to the first Kid, I can't imagine he handled that very well."

He turned his attention back to her. "What happened to the first Kid?"

"He was shot, years ago. You were probably about seven or eight at the time." She sighed. "We were all so worried he wasn't going to make it, but he recovered perfectly, thank God."

"Mom," Shinichi said, hesitating. "How well do you know Kaitou Kid?"

"Don't you remember what I told you that first night?"

He bit his lip, struggling to remember details. "You were helping a friend whose husband was nearly killed… Then, the husband was?"

"Bingo! There was another person I mentioned in that story. Do you remember?"

"The magician? The one that taught you the art of disguise?"

Yukiko beamed. "Two in a row!" Shinichi flushed a little with pride, but tried not to let it show. "That magician was how I met my friend. While he was teaching me, he introduced me to his wife."

_His wife…_ Shinichi sat upright, before slumping back with a pained groan. He waved off his mother's concern. "Kaitou Kid taught you disguise?"

Her smile softened. "He did. With the help of the Lady of a Thousand Faces."

"Mom, why didn't you ever tell me?" Shinichi bit his thumb as he thought. "Doesn't that mean you know the younger Kaitou Kid as well? Why didn't you just tell me we could trust him?"

Yukiko laughed. "Come now, Shin-chan, that wouldn't have been any fun at all!"

He rolled his eyes. "Then his… parents? They both know about me, right?"

"They do, but they aren't going to tell him. They like playing games even more than I do." She winked. "I'm not going to tell you their names, you know."

"I know. I could figure them out from what you've told me, but…" Shinichi sighed. "I still… I want him to tell me himself."

Yukiko positively _beamed_. "Oh, honey, you're growing up." She cupped his cheek, looking misty eyed. Behind her, the door opened.

"Looks like I came just in time," Yusaku laughed. "Sorry, I'm late, son. I was speaking with the police about the investigation."

Shinichi perked up, pushing his mom's hand away. "Have they found any signs of forced entry? Any new evidence? Any leads?"

Yusaku chuckled, taking a seat in the chair beside his wife. "Easy there, kiddo, one thing at a time." Shinichi huffed, feeling like a petulant child but unable to stop himself from pouting. "They did find signs of forced entry by our back gate. There were also some footprints, but other than that, they haven't found much else."

Shinichi touched his chin as he mulled over the new information. A hand touched his knee. He looked up, surprised to see such a stern expression on his dad's face.

"Shinichi, I'll tell you what you want to know, but you're not getting involved in this one. Let me handle this while you recover, okay?" He squeezed his knee firmly.

"What?" Shinichi exclaimed. "That's not fair, I was going to—"

"No, Shinichi," he said. "You need to rest. If you can't let us handle it, I won't tell you anything new when it comes up."

Shinichi turned away. "Fine," he grumbled.

"Don't be like that, Shinichi," his mom scolded gently. "There's not much you can do from here, anyway, right? Focus on getting better, and then we can talk about you tracking down leads again."

He sighed. "Yeah, okay." He turned back to face them. "How was Hawaii?"

* * *

There was a commotion in the hallway. All Shinichi could hear through the closed door was Onodera insisting someone wasn't allowed in since they weren't on the pre-approved visitor list. After a moment of silence, the door opened a crack before closing quickly behind Onodera.

He looked harried and annoyed, shooting a glare over his shoulder at the door. "There's a man here to see you. He says his name is Masayoshi and that you'll want to see him."

Shinichi perked up, smiling. "That's right. He's a friend of mine. I didn't realize he was in town or I would have put his name on the list," he said.

"Okay. I'll let him in, but only because you don't look like you're nervous or afraid." Onodera leaned forward. "You push that call button if that changes, alright?"

He nodded. "I will. I promise. Thank you for worrying, Onodera."

With that, Onodera opened the door. "You can come in, but you better be on your best behavior, or I'll have you removed."

Kid bowed politely. "Yes, sir." When the door was shut, he walked over, taking a seat beside Shinichi's bed. He grinned. "Hello, detective. You're certainly looking alive today."

He snorted. "Thanks, Masayoshi. Not wearing Hakuba today then?"

"Ugh, no." Kid grimaced. "He was the best I could do on short notice. I'd much rather wear one of my own disguises." He leaned back, looking relaxed and at ease in what Shinichi knew was an extremely uncomfortable chair. "Besides, Hakuba is out investigating something or another."

"How'd the heist go?"

"Did you know the Starlet is in town?" Kid asked.

Shinichi smiled. "She got in on the day of your heist."

"Hm, right, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but all of the women in your life are vaguely terrifying."

Shinichi couldn't help it; he laughed.

Kid pouted. "Don't mock my pain, detective. That woman is as scary as my mother, and that's saying something." He grimaced. "She said she wanted to thank me, but she knew a little too much about me for just thanking me. It felt rather like a threat, actually."

"Sorry, sorry, it's just—she's always like that, so I forget that other people aren't used to her." He smiled. "She means well, I promise. She's actually fond of you, for what it's worth. She thinks you're an excellent thief."

Kid's eyes went comically wide, and he leaned forward, his hands resting on the mattress. "You're not just messing with me, right, Kudou? You wouldn't lie to me about one of the world's most well-known thieves thinking I'm excellent, right?"

He laughed again. "Of course not. Do I look like that kind of person?"

Kid ran a considering eye over him. "Probably not, but then, look at the company you keep."

This time, after a beat, they both laughed.

"Other than my—the Starlet crashing your party, how did the heist go?" Close. He'd have to be more careful about what he said in front of Kid.

"Well, with her there, we caught several crows. I think it would have gone worse if she wasn't there." Kid tipped his head back, thinking. "Do your thieves have some kind of agreement to stay out of each other's way?"

"They don't, but the Night Baron wasn't feeling well, so the Starlet took his place since she was in town anyway." He smiled ruefully. "I know he wanted to be there, but circumstances being as they were…"

"I understand," Kid said, waving an absent hand. "I hope he feels better soon. Even if he is kind of a pretentious dick." He winced. "Don't tell him I said that."

Shinichi laughed helplessly. "I won't. Now, did you come for anything in particular, or just to check on me?"

For a moment, despite the mask, he thought Kid might be blushing. "I came to entertain you for a little while. I figured you must be bored out of your mind, stuck in here all day."

The moment passed; Shinichi groaned. "It's _horrible._ I don't get to start really moving for another _week_."

Kid pulled a deck of cards from somewhere. "Then it seems like I'm just what the doctor ordered." He winked.

They played three games of Crazy Eights and were in the middle of a game of War when Onodera told Kid it was time to leave. Shinichi was due for a visit from the doctor. Kid bowed, grinning.

"I'll come by again later, detective."

"Bye, Masayoshi." He smiled.

As Kid left, Onodera shot him a speculative look. "Oh, so _that's_ why you didn't put his name on the list." He winked. "Don't worry, Kudou, your secret's safe with me."

"What?" Shinichi glanced up at him. "What secret?"

He chuckled. "Come now, don't play coy. You _like_ him!"

"What?" Shinichi asked, blushing when it came out more as a squawk. "What are you talking about? He's my _friend_ and nothing more." If they could even really be called friends at all. He _wanted_ to be his friend. It would be nice, having someone that understood.

"Uh-huh," Onodera said, glancing over his chart. "You don't need to lie to me. I went through the same song and dance with my boyfriend before we made it official. Besides, I'm pretty sure this falls under the whole confidentiality thing."

Shinichi covered his face, groaning. "_We're not dating._" Onodera wasn't listening.


	13. Interlude: The Starlet's Visit

As always, thank you so much for being patient with me! I've been swamped lately, so finding time to write has been nearly impossible. As a thank you, I wrote this short interlude, set during Kid's heist from chapter twelve and told from Yukiko's perspective. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you all again for sticking with me!

* * *

Yukiko breezed into the ballroom like she was the guest of honor, gliding through and greeting everyone she came across with a wide smile. No one looked surprised, as she'd expected. She shook the hands of a group of American actors, insinuating that she'd met them at all at another party. They all opened up immediately, gossiping with her about the gem, the hosts.

She beamed and bloomed under their attention. Relaxed and ready to continue, she went back to making her rounds. On her second loop, she found him.

He was feigning shyness, trying to tell a woman he didn't want to step on her toes. Even with the disguise, she could see the resemblance. Kaito took after his mother in manner, but she could sense his father's flare lurking just under the surface.

"Darling," she cried, throwing her arms around him. "Oh, I didn't think you were going to make it!" She pushed his shoulder playfully. "Why didn't you tell me you'd arrived?"

"Amane," the woman's voice was tight, "who is this?"

"Oh, we're old friends, of course! Isn't that right, Amane?" She winked at him. "We've known each other for—how long has it been? Fourteen years? Twelve?"

The boy tensed under her arm. "Of course," he said, playing along, "I think it was thirteen."

"Well," the woman said flatly, "I suppose I should leave you to catch up." She turned her face away, lips pursed. Yukiko couldn't help the slow smile spreading across her face. When she was gone, Yukiko patted Kaito's head with a fond smile.

"Good boy." Linking her arm through his, she tugged him to the edge of the room. "Now, we should speak somewhere more privately, don't you think?"

"I do," he said, voice low and eyes wary. "Who are you?"

"I'm the thief of the silver screen, of course, dear. Oh, your mother must be so proud. You've grown up so well." She cupped his cheek.

He batted her hand away, wide eyed. "You know my mother?"

"And your father, of course. You didn't think your parents were the only thieves in the world, did you?" She chuckled. "Not to exclude my protégé, of course."

"Your… The Baron. Kudou mentioned he knew you, Ms. Starlet." Kaito finally relaxed. Couldn't have that.

"Yes, yes, but my cute protégé can't be here tonight." Yukiko smiled. "I'd like to see what you can do for myself. So, how about this: First one to get the jewel and get away wins."

"What?"

"You heard me. If you can defeat me, I'll accept you as an ally. If not… Well, I'm sure you can imagine what will happen."

Kaito swallowed thickly, but nodded. "Fine. You're on." He took several steps backwards, fading into the crowd. Yukiko followed suit, giggling to herself. She wasn't going to let him win, but even if he failed, she'd walk away with a measure on his talent.

He really was so cute. It was a shame he didn't know about her Shinichi yet, but that was okay. He'd learn in due time, she was sure. In the meantime, she'd have to make this heist as difficult for him as she could.

* * *

Yukiko was delighted and impressed to find Kaito the victor at the end of the night, though only barely. She beamed, wrapping him up in a hug.

"You are your parents through and through. I can see why my protégé trusts you so much already." She pulled back and cupped his cheeks. "I wish he had half the dramatic flair you do, but then I suppose we can't all be lucky."

"What exactly was this all about?" Kaito asked warily, taking a step back. "You must have a reason for being here. Not that I didn't appreciate your help with the crows today."

Yukiko smiled. "I wanted to thank you in person. Shinichi could have died if you weren't there. So, thank you. After all our years working together, he's like a son to me, you know."

"Oh, well, um, you're welcome." Kaito hesitated. "I'm glad I was there."

"The other reason I came was to make sure you knew who you were working with." Yukiko's smile turned sharp. "I trained the Night Baron, you know. I'm glad that you won, but don't forget who you're dealing with." She held up the jewel, taken from his pocket without his noticing.

His eyes grew comically wide. He fumbled when she tossed it back to him.

"Now, I hope you have an excellent night, Kid. Send your parents my warmest regards." She darted in to kiss his cheeks before sweeping away and vanishing into the night, leaving Kaito in her wake, dumbfounded.

Such a sweet boy. She hoped he and Shinichi continued to get along. With Ran out of the question now, she let herself hope for wedding bells sometime in the future. They were an excellent match, if she said so herself. Kaito would make an excellent son-in-law. She wouldn't even have to hide her second job.

For now, she'd be patient. Taking down criminal empires took time. She could think about her son's future after she'd secured it.


End file.
